Recycling drop-off banks overflowing with rubbish and blighted by fly-tipping are to be removed from the city centre.

Recycling bring banks that are operated by Oxford City Council's services company Oxford Direct Services (ODS) and charities are due to be phased out from the end of September.

There are approximately 160 bring banks across 23 sites.

Bring banks run by charities on private land such as Sainsbury's at Heyford Hill and Tesco at Oxford Retail Park will remain.

Once removed, the city council aims to recycle the steel and plastic from the containers or repurpose them.

The decision was agreed by the city council as part of its budget-setting process earlier this year.

It is estimated it will save it around £100,000 over the next three years.

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ODS will deep clean the sites after banks have been removed and any rubbish left there after that will be classed as fly-tipping and offenders may be prosecuted.

Councillor Nigel Chapman, cabinet member for citizen focused services and council companies, said: “The bring banks served their purpose in helping with recycling, but things have moved on.

"With improved kerbside refuse and recycling collections we no longer need them.

"Kerbside collections are easy to use and residents no longer need to leave their homes to dispose of many items.

"The negatives now outweigh the positives and it’s time we removed bring banks from the city.”

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What are the alternatives to using the banks? 

Good quality textiles can be donated to charity shops or could be sold or donated on online marketplaces such as Oxford Freegle.

Any textiles can be recycled at a household waste recycling centre. As a last resort, they can be put in the green rubbish bin.

Small electrical items in working condition are sold by charity shops. Any small or large electricals can be taken to a household waste recycling centre. 

The city council will also collect and recycle them at individual properties if they are left in an untied plastic bag on the top of the bin or sack on collection day.

Small electricals should not be placed in any of the bins.

For a list of what can be disposed of in each domestic bin visit the Waste Wizard on the city council’s waste and recycling web pages. 

ODS manages Oxford’s domestic recycling and waste collections on behalf of Oxford City Council.

Its website can be found by searching www.odsgroup.co.uk/Services/Recycling-Waste.