OXFORD’s simplification of its recycling bins will be welcome, if long overdue.

Recycling has become a deeply divisive issue — tainted by all the restrictions, regulations and rules on rubbish collection — when it should never have been.

The vast majority of people are happy to recycle. In fact, most of them want to recycle.

But where far too many councils went wrong was not making it as easy as possible.

It’s not that people are too stupid to be able to separate their waste, it’s that many can’t be bothered to take the time if they feel councils are snooping on them.

Telling householders they must divide up their trash — filtering newspaper and glass into one box, this and that into another, food in a separate pile, garden waste over there and the evil, non-recyclable waste in a big wheelie bin — while threatening them with the garbage police just got people’s backs up.

And so the city’s plan for one bin for paper, glass, tins, plastic and cardboard is a winner for the simple reason you will get more people joining in willingly.