A Yorkshire authority has boosted its glass recycling rate to 75 per cent after introducing kerbside collections of the material.
Leeds City Council said almost 12,000 tonnes of glass bottles and jars had been collected from households in the first year of the scheme.
As such the local authority’s glass recycling rate has soared from under half to three-quarters in just 12 months.
Any colour of glass bottle or jar can be added to residents’ green bins under the initiative. Caps, lids and labels can be left on.
The council works with contractor HW Martin to sort the material at its Leeds plant, with over 85 per cent of it being remelted at facilities in Yorkshire to produce new products.
Councillor Mohammed Rafique said: “The first year of household glass collections has been a big success so we’d like to say a big thank you to everyone in Leeds for their efforts.
“We call on people to continue to be glass acts and recycle even more if they can, as it does make a big and real difference.
“Let’s all work together to make the second year of glass collections even more successful than the first, to help the environment and the Yorkshire economy so that everyone wins.”
