FRIDGE magnets and calendars are the latest weapons in a Wiltshire recycling campaign.

From this week 130,000 households across Wiltshire, including in Wootton Bassett, Purton and Lyneham will start getting kerbside black box collection calendars.

The calendars will spell out the dates when collections take place, how the service is affected by bank holidays, what can be put in the box and the location of household recycling centres.

But 9,000 households, on key routes identified by the council, will also get a fridge magnet, made from recycled materials.

The magnets are twice the size of a credit card and tell people what they can put in their kerbside box and where they can recycle.

They will go to homes where black boxes are being used, but are not yet being as filled as the council would like.

Andy Conn, Wiltshire's waste services manager, said: “There are lots of reasons why some routes do not perform as well as we might hope. It could be that people don’t stay at one address for very long or aren’t sure what to put in the boxes.

“It might be that they are putting paper in the box but not glass or cans.

“The routes that we have identified are those where people are already doing some recycling.

“National studies have shown that these groups of people are willing to recycle more if you give them the means and the information.

“We know they have the means because like 98 per cent of households in Wiltshire they have a black box.

“What we’re doing is reinforcing the messages on how to use them. “If each household only puts out a little more for recycling each fortnight and you multiply that by 9,000 then the impact could be tremendous.

“This cost-effective and targeted effort is just one of the ways in which we’re working with residents to help them recycle more.”

Although not every home will get a special fridge magnet a limited number are available to Wiltshire residents.

If people email wastemanagement @wiltshire.gov.uk with their name and address they will be given out on a first come, first served basis.

For information on waste and recycling visit www.recycleforwiltshire.com