Residents who refuse to recycle could be fined under "radical" plans to improve rates and save money.

Croydon Council Cabinet is set to discuss plans to fine people who refuse to use recycling bins £80 in a bid to save as much as £200,000 in landfill costs.

The proposal, which would then be put to public consultation during the summer, would see Croydon join neighbours Bromley, who introduced the policy in 2006, alongside about a third of London’s borough.

Councillor Phil Thomas, cabinet member for highways and environmental services, said: "At this stage all we are doing is consulting people. When you are out door-stepping, as I have been for the last nine months, you go to parts of the borough and see a minority of people who couldn’t care less about recycling. These people are costing the rest of is money ad have no civic responsibility."

The council pays about £106 for every tonne of waste sent to landfill. In contrast it only pays around £30 to recycle the same amount.

By making recycling compulsory the council believes it could save over £200,000 per year.

The council’s waste education and enforcement team will be tasked with policing the policy, should it be approved.

Coun Thomas gave assurances only those who persistently fail to use their recycling bins would be approached, being first issued with a warning, followed by a visit and recycling tutorial.

Only if these measures fail will a penalty notice be made.

Coun Thomas said: "This is not about targeting the person who forgets and puts a can of beer in the rubbish, or the little old lady who can’t drag her wheelie bin onto the kerb, this is about those who refuse to recycle.

"We have got to be radical haven’t we if we want to improve our environment and save money."

The council has a recycling rate of about 40 per cent, up from 16 per cent in 2006, and has set its sights on eventually getting over the 50 per cent mark for recycling the borough’s waste.

Coun Thomas said: "Just last year we extended weekly food waste collections to the whole borough and we also accept far more types of plastic than ever before.

"But we can only do so much in terms of providing services and facilities - the biggest change has to come from individual households, who can help save local taxpayers an enormous amount of money in the long run."