Claims Southend Council sends nearly half of its rubbish to incinerators are incorrect, a councillor has said.

The issue is expected to be covered in the Channel 4 programme, Dirty truth about your rubbish, which is set to air at 8pm tonight.

Southend Council is set to be named and shamed during the show for sending a high amount of recycled waste (45 per cent) off for incineration.

But Matt Dent, councillor for Kursaal, has taken to social media to warn viewers the number given for Southend Council is incorrect.

He says the authority gave an erroneous response to a freedom of information request, and the authority only sends nine per cent of recycled waste out for incineration.

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To set the record straight, Mr Dent has taken to Facebook and says 2,100 tonnes of waste were taken to incinerators in 2019/2020 – or around three per cent of household waste in the borough.

He also stated the only waste which was sent to incineration was non-recyclable items which had been placed in pink recycling sacks incorrectly – this included items such as used nappies, crisp packets, polystyrene and sanitary items.

Mr Dent added: “The council has notified Channel 4 and the relevant press of this error, so for those of you who watch Dispatches tonight, please bear this in mind.

“This error coming to light has served to highlight the need for all of us nationwide to recycle properly.

“The council’s waste contractor Veolia currently makes the arrangements for the sorting and processing of the borough’s recycling and therefore needs to find disposal outlets for the non-recyclables which may be presented in the pink recycling sacks.”