Dad and son's Rushden recycling push gives bin crews break

Bin crews have not needed to collect George (left) and Jake's black bin for six months

A boy and his father have filled less than half their black wheelie bin with waste in the six months after pledging to recycle all their soft plastic.

George and Jake, from Rushden, Northamptonshire, were inspired by Greenpeace's Big Plastic Count.

They have further reduced their waste by getting refills of goods like herbs, pasta and washing-up liquid since starting the challenge on 19 October.

Dad George said it had been "a good team effort".

They stuff all their soft plastic into a bread bag, tie it up "like a balloon" before taking it to a supermarket once a week for recycling

Counting their plastic use for a week during the Big Plastic Count revealed "lots of our plastic was soft plastic", son Jake said.

George added, after changing "our habits a little bit", they "didn't find it that hard to be honest".

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The biggest change was collecting all their soft plastic, including carrier bags, crisp packets, soft plastic and citrus fruit nets.

"What we do, is once there's an empty bread bag, we start filling it with plastic and it's amazing how much you can get in there," said George.

A tree surgeon, he "ties it up like a balloon" and takes it to a Co-op shop once a week as it takes all soft plastics for recycling without the need to separate, he said.

Six months into the challenge the family's non-recyclable wheelie bin is less than half full

North Northamptonshire Council asks residents to put non-recyclable rubbish into a general refuse black wheelie bin, including soft plastic such as carrier bags.

Some rigid plastic, like plastic bottles, margarine tubs and food trays, can go in recycling wheelie bins.

Other changes the family have made include gathering tin foil into a large ball, because that makes it easier to be recycled.

Jake, nine, discovered he could separate the outer plastic film from the inner tin foil on sweet packaging, so he has started to do that.

"It's been a good team effort because he's quite interested in living a more sustainable life as well," said George.

The family now intend to extend the challenge by another six months.