Hertsmere Borough Council will have to pay £25 for every ton of plastics and cans sent for recycling from next month — instead of profiting by £45 per ton.

Councillor Jean Heywood, the council’s environment portfolio holder, said the authority will have to pay for waste to be recycled because the value of recycled materials has slumped.

The council used to receive £80.03 per ton of plastics and cans.

This was £45 per ton from Potters Bar recycling company Chas Storer Ltd, and £35.03 per ton in recycling credits from Hertfordshire County Council for waste diverted from landfill.

The council will still receive recycling credits, but will now have to pay £25 per ton to the company.

Mrs Heywood said: “We are very lucky here in the borough because there are a lot of boroughs that are being told to stop all their plastics and cans because they just don’t want to take them anymore.”

She also said there were 202 missed bin collections in the borough in October. Out of the missed bins 98 were collected within 48 hours.

The number of missed bins at the same time last year was 430.