FAMILIES in the Suffolk Coastal area have recycled the equivalent of 1,300 dustcarts of junk mail, newspapers, garden waste and glass in six months.In all, residents have recycled 8,000 tonnes of materials, either putting it out weekly to be collected, or in banks across the district.

FAMILIES in the Suffolk Coastal area have recycled the equivalent of 1,300 dustcarts of junk mail, newspapers, garden waste and glass in six months.

In all, residents have recycled 8,000 tonnes of materials, either putting it out weekly to be collected, or in banks across the district.

Andrew Nunn, cabinet member for the environment said: "This is an excellent achievement by our residents - to put it in context it is equal to over 1,300 times the amount of rubbish that one of our full refuse freighters can carry.

"That is an awful lot of rubbish that is now being saved from being dumped into a landfill site.

"This is National Recycling Week and I hope it will act as an another reminder to all our residents to make use of all the services we are providing to help make it easier for them to recycle.

"I am pleased to say that from next spring we will expand Coastal Ploughback to the rest of our district so every home can have their garden waste collected every fortnight, thanks largely to funding from the government."

April to October statistics show 4,500 tonnes of garden waste was collected from homes served by Coastal Ploughback, 2,000 tonnes of paper from the collection service from all homes, and 1,000 tonnes of glass and 500 tonnes of paper from the network of recycling centres.

In Suffolk Coastal every home now receives a fortnightly collection of waste paper, with 30,000 homes also getting a fortnightly collection of garden waste. There are also more than 200 recycling centres throughout the district.

Mr Nunn said: "Our recycling rates have hit a record level, with 33 per cent of household waste now being diverted from landfill sites, but we cannot relax as we have a Government target of 36 per cent to hit next year.

"I would again thank residents for their support and ask them to redouble their efforts."

WEBLINK: www.suffolkcoastal.gov.uk/envhealth

n. Are you surprised at the amount recyled? How easy do you find it to recyle in your area? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email eveningstarletters@eveningstarletters.co.uk

panel: Suffolk Coastal recycling

n Old newspapers, junk mail, catalogues and other paper out can be put out for doorstep collection every fortnight in the green boxes.

n Garden cuttings should be put in the brown wheelie bins - or on a compost heap - and are also collected fortnightly on the weeks when the paper is not collected.

n Recycling centres have banks for a variety of materials - cans, glass bottles and jars, clothing, and plastic containers such as milk and squash bottles.

n Full details of where recycling centres are sited and what materials can be recycled, and details of doorstep collection dates for your address, are available from Suffolk Coastal's recycling team on 01394 444000.