ONE issue which was brought up at Saturday s screening of Al Gore s film was that of plastic recycling. In Hitchin there is no council-owned plastic recycling centre and to get to the nearest site – the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Blackhorse Road,

ONE issue which was brought up at Saturday's screening of Al Gore's film was that of plastic recycling.

In Hitchin there is no council-owned plastic recycling centre and to get to the nearest site - the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Blackhorse Road, Letchworth GC - most residents have to drive and thus produce carbon dioxide from their vehicles, defeating the purpose of recycling.

Dan Gomm, of North Herts Friends of the Earth, said: "The Hitchin recycling centre is something that people of Hitchin have been asking for for a long time. There is a genuine issue of where to put it.

"The Letchworth centre is nearer Baldock and requires quite a journey in the car there and back."

Although there is a recycling centre in Hitchin, Mr Gomm said it does not recycle some of the materials that the site in Letchworth does.

"You have to pay. It is not a council-run place and it is designed for trade. Also, its opening hours are restricted," he added.

Hitchin councillor Sarah Wren, who attended the screening, said North Hertfordshire District Council is planning to introduce some bring bank sites across North Hertfordshire.

Cllr Wren said: "The plan is to have 75 bring bank sites up and running by the October start-up of the new recycling initiative.

"They will be all around North Hertfordshire, the idea being that everyone should be able to get to one easily."

Cllr Wren continued: "Some councils are further advanced than we are on this, but many others have yet to take up the challenge.

"The important thing is to get it right so that people will want to get involved; a large number of places to take plastic for recycling should be easier for most people than one large recycling venue.