A NEW recycling centre for Oxford’s waste could be built in the city.

Oxford City Council has set aside £1.4m for the facility, which it said would save money for council taxpayers in the long term.

The plant would not only take the city’s waste but could also accommodate waste from other authorities too, Dry waste such as glass, card, paper and aluminium cans is currently recycled at a plant run by private company Viridor in Enstone.

It has to be taken to the site by council crews, costing fuel. The council currently receives an income from Viridor for recycling at the plant because the company can sell the recycled products on and make a profit.

But a drop in prices for paper and glass means the council would instead have to pay Viridor to take dry waste off its hands.

City board member for the environment John Tanner said a number of options were being looked at, including building the new centre.

He said: “The idea would be to find a site and build the facilities on it so the city council could deposit its own recycling.

“If we had this recycling centre we could then offer that to other councils as a base to do recycling.

“The other big advantage for the city council is that our crews collect all the recycling and then have to drive out to Enstone and drive back and that wastes more diesel.

“We would much prefer them to be sending their drivers around collecting the rubbish and then depositing it very close to the city.

“We would save money. We are looking at a number of sites within the ring road and just outside it.”

Large domestic appliances, scrap metal and mixed cans are recycled by the council at a metal salvage yard in Jackdaw Lane, Oxford, while garden and food waste is sent to a composting facility in Ardley. Other items such as books and clothes are sent to a range of charities.

The council’s contract with Viridor is due for renewal in October.