Council officials are about to sign a 20-year deal worth £400m with a new waste company, who will be told to introduce an extra bin so residents can separate recyclable rubbish from everyday household waste.

Local householders are still throwing away more nappies, garden waste and kitchen scraps than the average UK resident, while barely a third regularly use the black baskets for kerbside recycling.

An investigation into waste facilities revealed that communication with the public had been poor over the issue, and called for an urgent charm offensive to persuade residents to cut down on waste, and recycle more items.

The committee also called a trip to the main tip in Greenham an “off-putting experience”, citing poor access and delays for creating a “road safety hazard.”

The report noted: “The complaints from customers about the difficulty of carrying green waste and heavy packs of paper and cardboard up flights of steps have been made regularly for more than a year. Whereas the presence of staff at times to assist those visiting the site is welcomed, such help is not always available. Further, the need to carry material up steps, and the absence of adjacent parking to those containers, causes delay both to the immediate user and those waiting.

“Improvements have been promised; they need to be made if we are to encourage greater use of the site.

The Tory-run task group has made eight urgent recommendations if the council is to avoid a £3 million fine from the government next year for failing to meet UK recycling targets. Taxpayers could also have to foot the bill for another fine from the EU.

Other recommendations include:

• Redesign Pinchington Lane tip

• Add recycling points in Downlands and on edge of Reading.

• Place communal area for recycling in all new blocks of flats.

• Start including cardboard with kerbside collections

• Apply for more financial help from Whitehall

The council has raised recycling from 11 per cent to 17 per cent in the last year – putting the local area in the top fifth at recycling – but must hit 40 per cent by next April to avoid a fine. The committee was formed 10 months ago, amid growing concern that the council was not doing enough to address the waste issue.

Click here to read the full report.