Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

All local houses should now have their 'blue bin'.

The main roll-out of blue lidded bins for the collection of plastic bottles and cardboard has now been completed and collections have successfully started in north, east and west Wiltshire.

On average over 700 tonnes of plastic bottles and cardboard are now being collected from households in Wiltshire each month.

With any large roll-out of this size (over 135,000 bins) it is inevitable that some properties will have been missed by the contractors. WC staff are now working overtime and at weekends to deliver bins to the remaining properties and this task should be completed before Christmas.

Any resident who hasn't received a new blue lidded bin and has not already contacted the council should call 0300 456 0102 to request one or email wasteandrecycling@wiltshire.gov.uk

WC will also be running a radio campaign on Heart and Spire fm in January promoting recycling and the new collection arrangements.

Every householder in west Wiltshire has received a collection date calendar advising them of the day they need to leave out their general waste, garden waste and their plastic bottles and cardboard for collection. Residents have also received an information leaflet explaining what items they can leave in each of their bins.

You can also check the waste section of the council's website www.wiltshire.gov.uk for further details and collection information.

It is hoped the new service will encourage a significant improvement in recycling rates. Both the government and the council have targets to increase household recycling rates to 50% by 2020. Wiltshire's current performance is 41%.