PEOPLE in Swindon have a lot of bottle recycling more than eight kilogrammes of glass per person in 2000.

Last year the town's 39 bottle banks collected 1,451.48 tonnes of bottles and jars.

And townsfolk are being urged to keep up the good work by supporting a national recycling campaign which urges bottle bank users to stagger their deposits into the New Year to allow time for the banks to be emptied.

David Workman, director general of British Glass, said: "Half of the glass collected for recycling in the UK is green.

"We want to increase the amount of clear and brown glass that is being recycled as we have the capacity to increase the percentage of recycled clear and brown being used to make new bottles and jars."

Glass is not only an environmentally friendly packaging material but research shows that consumers prefer it to other types of packaging.

Research also indicates 65 per cent of consumers believe packaging products in glass suggests quality, which is why glass packaging is plentiful around Christmas.

Top tips for glass recycling:

Return refillable bottles to the supplier and return milk bottles to the milkman

Before using bottle bank, empty and rinse containers and remove caps and corks

Separate clear, brown and green glass

Never deposit window glass, light bulbs, cooking dishes or glass crockery

If a bottle is decorated or in a plastic sleeve check the top where the cap has been to determine bottle colour

Mix the bottle bank run with shopping or the school run

Don't leave boxes or bags used to carry bottles at the bottle bank

Don't use the bottle bank late at night to avoid disturbing residents

If the bottle bank is full try another day.

Swindon has 40 bottle banks. The main ones are at Barnfield Tip, Sains-bury stores in Stratton and Bridgemead, Tesco in Ocotal Way, and Asda in West Swindon.

Other bottle banks are in outlying villages.