KEEN recyclers will soon be able to put out their plastic bottles for collection under a new scheme.

In July Swindon Council is starting a programme that will eventually spread across the borough.

At the moment there are only a limited number of places where residents can recycle plastic bottles, but soon council lorries will be picking up specially-marked bags from outside people's homes.

The move has been revealed by Swindon Council's deputy leader Fionuala Foley, who said it demonstrated the authority's green credentials.

"It will start to be rolled out across the borough from July 23," said Coun Foley (Con, Old Town and Lawn).

"Residents will be given a special bag for plastic bottles and these will be collected at night."

It has not yet been decided which part of Swindon will get the bags first.

The scheme will only accept bottles, and not margarine tubs or other plastic items.

The move comes ahead of September, when the borough will move over to a fortnightly rubbish collection and a weekly recycling collection.

Swindon Friends of the Earth co-ordinator Jean Saunders said it was a welcome, if long-overdue, move.

"It's about time," she said. "Kerbside collection of recyclable materials in the borough has been so slow to get off the ground in comparison with other local authorities.

"I think they have confused people so much by different areas having different materials.

"To make recycling successful you need to make it accessible to everyone and also to make it easy to understand.

"It's difficult to get a market for mixed plastic and I understand that.

The appeal to the general public is to use the service and to make sure they comply with manner that the waste needs to be collected. It needs to be clean."

l At the moment plastic bottles can be recycled at the Waterside Cheney Manor household waste centre, Covingham Square shops, Freshbrook Centre shops car park, Haydon Centre car park, North Swindon district centre, Shaw village centre, Sainsbury's in Stratton, the West Swindon Centre car park and the Ellendune Centre in Wroughton.