More types of plastic will be recyclable in Guernsey

Mrs Norman-Ross said dirty plastic might contaminate others

More types of plastic will be recyclable in Guernsey in 2011, the Public Services Department has announced.

Types five and six plastics will be added to the existing types one and two in early January.

Tina Norman-Ross, recycling officer, said: "Items such as yoghurt pots, sauce bottles and food trays will be recyclable once the bins are in place.

"This will mean that there will be very few plastics that cannot be recycled."

She said additional recycling bins would be made available at many of the bring bank sites to cope with the increased volumes.

All the plastics will be baled and shipped to the UK for processing.

Mrs Norman-Ross said: "To aid efficient compaction of plastics for baling, we ask that tops be removed from drinking bottles before being put in the bring banks - they can be included, just separately.

"Whilst from January we will be able to accept a much wider range of material, it is still vital that people take the time to clean their plastics before dropping them off and check they have the correct recycling symbol on it - a triangle with the number one, two, five or six inside it.

"Plastics that still have food on them can contaminate whole batches of material, meaning they have to be sent to landfill."