The kerbside collection of recyclable waste in Port St Mary might be back on.The local authority has asked for expressions of interest in running the service to be submitted by May 18.The service was pulled last month in response to what the authority said was ’an unforeseen rise in contractor’s costs and the global economic decrease in the value of recyclates’.

The news sparked a lively debate on Facebook.

Several regretted the decision and said cost was the wrong reason for pulling such an environmentally important scheme; others questioned its cost.

Another asked: ’If there is no market for recyclates at the moment. What happens to the stuff people put in the three (+ amenity site) local bring-bank points?’

Commissioner Michelle Haywood explained that the amount recycled - at 13% - wasn’t high enough. In an ’ideal world’ it would have been 50% and the standard bin round and recyclates would be collected fortnightly.

She added: ’With China refusing to take any more plastic waste [because you can only reprocess it to low grade uses] the market in the UK has collapsed and there are large stockpiles of plastic that no-one knows what to do with.’

Despite these pressing economic factors, the authority said it should ’at least explore’ other options.Dr Haywood proposed the authority ask for expressions of interest for the kerbside contract.

Deputy clerk Hayley Fargher said: ’The board did not take the decision lightly to stop the service in the first place and the view was always to look at it again. The link was also made in the cancellation of the last contract to an unforeseen increase in contractor’s costs. We are aware that there has been a global economic decrease in recyclables, however it is in the best interest of the village to at least explore what options we do have.’

One resident has responded by setting up a Facebook group - Port St Mary Recycling Co-Op Committee - to form a committee to run a local co-op company and apply for the kerbside collection tender.