ECO warriors didn't waste words when they returned a hostage to veteran Radcliffe councillor Richard Fletcher.

Capes flying and ray guns at the ready, the masked crusaders rolled down the street to return the wheelie bin they kidnapped last week.

But Captain Recycle, Captain Reduce and Compost Girl didn't just bring back his bin - they also returned his rubbish.

The self-styled eco-superheroes emptied the drinks cans and household waste outside his home in Bolton Road, Radcliffe, and told him he could have recycled 60 per cent of the waste. This was the first direct action taken by the costumed activists of BIN (Ban Incineration Now).

They are protesting at plans by the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority to build new waste incinerators instead of investing in recycling. Coun Fletcher is the Authority chairman.

The stunned councillor was reluctant to meet the BIN delegation at first but Compost Girl, whose low chic attire was complemented by bananas and carrots, managed to get her foot in the door. But Coun Fletcher told them that both he and his wife were not in good health, and that their behaviour was "disgusting and abominable" in coming onto his property at night and stealing his bin.

It is the second time this month that Coun Fletcher has been ambushed. The Plain English Campaign presented him with a Golden Bull award, describing the Waste Disposal Authority's new consultation document as jargon-ridden garbage.

However, BIN did manage to keep Coun Fletcher talking on the doorstep for half an hour about recycling. Captain Recycle justified the group's tactics, saying: "Hopefully he's got the message that people want to recycle.

"The consultation document is not written in a way people can understand.

"We want to raise people's awareness of the issues and let people know what they can do about it."

He added: "We did not want to upset him but a lot of people will be upset by incinerators in Greater Manchester, leading to a worse environment and worse people's health."

The nightmare may not be over for Coun Fletcher and his waste colleagues.

"There will be lots more bin actions until the message gets through," promised Captain Recycle.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.