CHARD should be the first market town in the UK to try a new supermarket recycling system, says town and county councillor Jill Shortland.

Cllr Shortland says Tesco, and possibly Chard's other supermarkets, should install Tomra recycling stations near the front of their stores.

They gobble up and compact recyclables, including plastic containers, metals, plastic bags, glass and paper.

The machines can compact waste to one-twelfth of its original volume.

Cllr Shortland said: "Tesco's recent massive profits announcement means it's the right time to go back to Tesco and say the Tomra systems have been piloted in the UK and we want to be the first market town to have it in Chard.

"I'd like it in Chard as many residents don't like the orange bins for plastic - the bins are ugly and it will help clean up the town.

"The other day there was a plastic bath in the plastic bank at Crowshute House.

"Why shouldn't supermarkets take responsibility? They provide us with the packaging, so wouldm't it be a socially responsible thing to do, especially as the store is slightly out of the town centre?"

A Tesco spokesman said: "We have one of the biggest and most popular recycling centres in the area.

"The number of plastic recycling bins has increased from one to three.

"Our customers are certainly doing their bit and we're doing as much as we can in response to customer demand."

Tesco in Chard is shutting its in-store coffee shop as part of a forthcoming refit that will see larger sections for fruit and vegetables, frozen foods and groceries, as well as non-food items.

The refit is due to be completed in the second week of January.

A system failure affecting checkouts forced Chard's Tesco store to close for several hours on Sunday and Monday.

The shop shut for four hours on Sunday and 1 hours on Monday.

A Tesco spokesman said staff worked round the clock to fix the problem.