Eastleigh householders have done their bit to help to make the borough one of the country's most successful authorities for recycling rubbish.

The twin bin system - one grey for general waste and a green bin for recyclables - collects about 33,000 tonnes of refuse a year, of which 9,000 tonnes is recycled.

Add in material turned round at household recycling centres, textile and bottle banks plus home composting and Eastleigh's total recycling figure rises to around 40 per cent of household waste - well above the government's 25 per cent target figure.

But a mid term report has drummed out a "could do better" message.

Now, council chiefs are hoping to launch a programme to reinforce which rubbish should be placed where.

Last year Project Integra - a partnership dealing with long-term solutions to Hampshire's waste disposal - undertook a survey throughout the county to establish what level of recycling was taking place.

In Eastleigh, two groups were sampled involving a total of 1,000 grey bins - 500 from Chandler's Ford and 500 from West End.

Examination of the contents revealed several items in the grey bins which should have been placed in the green recycling bins.

Now, the borough council is set to carry out a leaflet drop clearly explaining what items can be recycled: paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and cans. Initially, the leaflets will go to householders in Chandler's Ford who were the first to receive wheelie bins in 1996.

The Project Integra research also showed that at least four per cent of grey bin waste was made up of soiled nappies.

The the leaflet will also encourage households with young children to use alternatives.

A council spokesman said: "Disposable nappies are made from plastic and take between two and 500 years to break down in land fill sites.

"Alternatives could include a nappy with a biodegradable inner liner and an outer shell that can be washed and reused.

A laundry service could be utilised for the washing."

And he added: "It is likely that the alternatives would not cost any more and could be cheaper than disposable nappies."

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