Bicester: Concerns over fly-tipping at bottle banks

Jamie Jessett, founder of litter picking groups in Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington, described this as a "continuous issue".

He also claims the "bottle banks are not getting emptied enough", with glass bottles being left on the floor in front of the banks. 

Mr Jessett said: "The bottle recycling banks are awful with fly-tipped items.

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"I don’t understand why people can’t use the local charity shops, and I’m sure the council would kindly help people dispose items accordingly.

"The bottle banks have loads of smashed glass everywhere, [which is] unsafe for the public and animals if they go by it.

"This doesn't set an example to younger generations to respect the environment we live in."

A bottle bank in Bicester yesterday (August 15) (Image: Jamie Jessett)

In response to this, a spokesperson for Cherwell District Council said: “The bring banks are for the recycling of materials such as glass and they are cleared and cleaned on a regular basis by our waste and recycling team.

"Any disposal of other sorts of waste at the bottle banks is illegal fly-tipping and it could result in the person placing waste next to the bank having a criminal record.

"People can report issues with bins, litter and fly-tipping using our website at www.cherwell.gov.uk."

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Mr Jessett is calling for CCTV to be installed at bottle banks to "capture the culprits dumping the items".

"If not, I feel bottle banks should all be removed immediately, as the public cannot used them properly," he said.

He said other councils collect glass from households, which he believes is "more convenient" and "would reduce items being dumped at recycling banks"

"However, the problem would move elsewhere to even more on the country roads fly tipping," he added. 

Mr Jessett previously resigned as a town councillor after he said he was "bullied" out of his role.

The environmental campaigner quit the council in July 2023 and said at the time he received a “lack of support” after receiving “ongoing abuse” since he was elected as a town councillor.

The town council said in response that special support was organised to support Mr Jessett at the "first opportunity available".

Despite this saga, Mr Jessett has continued to raise awareness of issues in the town and plays an active role in clearing and identifying litter.

He was the founder of the Bicester litter pickers group.