BANK and don't bin your festive food jars this Christmas is the message as new figures reveal that an average person living in Ipswich is recycling nearly 7kg of glass a year.

By Amanda Cresswell

BANK and don't bin your festive food jars this Christmas is the message as new figures reveal that an average person living in Ipswich is recycling nearly 7kg of glass a year.

Suffolk authorities are backing a nationwide campaign led by Ready Steady Cook celebrity chef Kevin Woodford to remind people to recycle their glass food jars as well as bottles.

At the launch, Mr Woodford said: "Many people remember to recycle empty booze bottles at Christmas, but forget about recycling all the empty jars of mincemeat, cranberry sauce, mayonnaise, pickles and even the curry sauce jar they use to make left-over turkey.

"The great thing about glass is it can be used again and again to make more bottles and jars, so after the celebrations don't bin your glass, bank it at the local bottle bank."

The proportion of waste recycled in Suffolk has grown by 8.8% since

1996. Last year 7,925 tonnes were collected in the county.

Ipswich is playing its part in UK recycling with a yearly average of 6.74 kilograms of glass being deposited per person in bottle banks – a total of 761 tonnes a year.

Recycling just one jar or bottle saves enough energy to power a television set for 20 minutes or a 100 watt light bulb for almost an hour.

Mid Suffolk recycled 1147 tonnes of glass in 2001/02 from 90 recycling centres, which accounts for about four percent of the collected household waste stream.

But surveys show people in the Mid Suffolk District still throw 1,700 tonnes of glass into landfill each year.

A Mid Suffolk spokeswoman said: "We all have a role to play in slimming our bins and reducing the amount of household rubbish we dispose of.

"If we don't do something about reducing landfill and encourage sustainable development, then it is tantamount to cheating our children out of a clean environment."

People are also being encouraged to stagger their visits to bottle banks after Christmas so there is a steady supply of glass to be recycled.

It is also advised to empty and rinse the containers before putting them in the bottle banks.

Website:

For more information on British Glass glass recycling contact www.britglass.com

Recycling tips:

Never put milk bottles in a glass recycling bank – always return them to a milkman.

Before putting glass into bottle banks, empty and rinse the containers and remove any bottle caps or corks.

At the bottle bank separate clear, brown and green glass and place into the appropriate bottle banks. Place the blue bottles in the green bottle bank.

Only deposit glass containers such as bottles and jars – food, pharmaceutical and household items packaged in glass are all recyclable as well as beer and wine bottles.

Never deposit window glass, light bulbs, Pyrex cooking dishes or glass crockery items in the bottle banks.