Labour councillor Jane Milner-Barry is appalled at the possibility of the borough council stopping recycling of plastic waste.

Residents will be asked from Monday how they feel about putting plastic tubs and posts and trays and bottles into their black bins rather than recycling boxes.

The plan would be to send the plastic waste along with domestic rubbish to the solid recovered fuel plant at Cheney Manor. There it would be converted into fuel to be used in industrial processes such as making cement.

The rationale is that Swindon’s plastic is sent overseas for recycling – but that is harder to do now China has banned the import of plastic waste, and there are fears that the waste is being landfilled.

Coun Fionuala Foley, the Conservative cabinet member for highways and environment at Euclid Street said: “We don’t want plastic waste from Swindon washing up on a beach in the Far East somewhere. We are taking control of it.

But Coun Milner-Barry says this is entirely the wrong approach.

She said: “This would be burning the plastic, which is a fossil fuel. We should not be burning more fossil fuels, but using less.

“We need to recycle more not less.”

The councillor for Old Town ward quoted the government’s National Infrastructure Commission which said: “Targeting plastics [for recycling] is particularly important. Increasing the plastic recycling rate will also reduce emissions generated from burning plastics - effectively a fossil fuel.”

She added: “Burning plastic will just add to the problems of climate change.

“We need to put pressure on companies to use less plastic packaging. Not just burn it.”