Bristol has launched a new mixed recycling scheme. 18,000 households will be involved in the new pilot project. If it is successful the council will consider rolling out the project across the city. Households have been given water proof sacks to collect waste plastic in. These will be collected each week along with regular recycling black bins.

The council says all plastics from households can be placed in the sacks for recycling. Items include shampoo bottles, cleaning products, and food and beverage containers. Hard plastics such as toys, cling film, video cassettes, crisp packets, and carrier bags, will not be accepted for collection. The council has estimated that the new scheme will collect up to 774 tonnes of plastic products each year. 86 tonnes of plastic bottles are collected by the city’s recycling banks each month, the equivalent of 25.8 million bottles each year. Households not taking a part in the pilot programme can still participate by taking mixed plastics to local recycling sites.