COLCHESTER’S waste boss will wait until next year before he thinks about fining people for not recycling properly.

Any incentive scheme, to encourage people to recycle, has also been put on hold until 2014 while Colchester Council rolls out food waste recycling and plastic recycling into flats in the autumn.

Martin Hunt, borough councillor responsible for waste, said: “I think we will be keen to get food recycling and recycling to flats in place in the autumn and let it flatten out until we decide next year whether we need to offer incentives, or indeed penalties.”

Mr Hunt already has powers to fine people who leave out too many black sacks but has said he would only use them on residents who persistently refuse to recycle.

Colchester Council officers are also in talks with companies such as Nectar, Tesco Clubcard and green group Recyclebank to come up with a scheme whereby residents would be rewarded for recycling.