The famous Ross recycling scheme, which has been the envy of the country for the support it has received from local residents, might be scrapped. Although Herefordshire Council is planning to extend recyling collections throughout the county, if the Ross Re-Box collections are scrapped, it would mean unemployment for the people with learning difficulties employed by the scheme. However, Dennis Humble, manager of the Ryefield Centre, said,?"Although our collectors deal with rubbish, they are a skilled group of workers. If the council needs to go in a different direction, we need to explore new ways of utilising their talents and experience." He added that changes could be on the cards, as talks are already under way with Ross Town Council to explore ways to re-energise local initiatives. He said that they also hope to encourage other local organisations to work with them. Mr Humble said, "I am sure some people will miss the operators, but they need to ask themselves what they have done to get involved." He added that he is always willing to talk to groups about their ideas. Herefordshire Council is organising a consultation to plan the future for waste recycling in the county. The Re-Box project is founded on the principle that everyone and everything has a value, people and materials. It replaced the blue bag paper collection scheme that was run by the Charity EnviroAbility for some years. To date, about 10,000 households in Ross and the surrounding district use the blue box scheme to recycle paper, textiles, glass bottles, jars and cans. Many people supported the scheme, not merely because they agreed with recycling their waste, but because they supported the employment of the adults with learning difficulties who were the face of Re-Box. If the Council's proposals for the new collection are implemented, the collecting staff will be looking for new jobs. Mr Humble told the Ross Gazette, "We are looking to find new roles for them, and would be keen to hear any ideas from local people." Residents of the county have until June 19th to register their opinions on the county council's website. This is because the waste collection contract is due to expire next year. Andy Tector, of Herefordshire Council, said, "There is no need for people to panic, but we have to look to the future." He told the Ross Gazette that with a brand new recycling facility in Worcester due to open next year, pre-sorting the recycling collections will no longer be necessary. Around 30% of waste produced in Hereford is currently recycled, but the government has set the council the target of recycling 40% of rubbish by 2010. Herefordshire Council proposes to carry on collecting the black bag rubbish weekly, but would change the household recycling collection to fortnightly. This would mean that they would then offer kerbside recycling to every household in the county, not merely to the current 72%, and households would be provided with an extra wheeled bin for mixed recyclables. The wheeled bins will be necessary because of the dangers of collecting glass in bags. All different types of plastic (not only bottles), cans, paper, card, cardboard and other carton-type packaging will be acceptable, but the textile collections will stop – although textile and clothing recycling banks will be placed around the County. Because the waste will not need to be sorted at the kerbside, the current scheme using the blue boxes in Ross and the surrounding districts will not be necessary. The new facility in Worcester will be able to sort goods automatically, even differentiating between different coloured glass. Herefordshire Council would like to know the opinions of local residents on the proposals for using a wheeled bin instead of a black bag for the weekly rubbish collection. To communicate views and suggestions to the county council, register on the web site, at www. herefordshire.gov.uk/environment.