A CHRISTMAS message calling on households in Worcester to start recycling or face financial penalties is being renewed by the city council.

With the amount of waste produced over the festive period rising to a fifth above the normal level, the council is desperate to increase the number of households taking part, as it could face financial penalties of up to £1.5m.

The Evening News reported in November that the number of households taking part in Warndon, Brickfields and Tolladine is as low as 29 per cent.

The poor rates of participation alone could cost the city £1.5m as each ton of waste, beyond a permitted level, taken to a landfill site costs the county council £200 in fines.

"More than 70 per cent of items we throw away as 'rubbish' can be recycled or reused, making a big impact on the environment," said Hannah Phoenix, the council's assistant environmental protection officer, following the renewed "recycle or you'll pay" message.

Transfer

"The ideal situation would be for everybody to see just how much recyclable material they can regularly transfer from black bags to purple and clear ones.

"The implications of not recycling just don't bear thinking about.

"At Christmas, we all consume lots of extra food and drink, and treat ourselves to things we wouldn't normally buy.

"Of course, this also creates more waste than usual - a high proportion of which can be recycled in your kerbside purple and clear sacks."

Any residents who require additional sacks can call the recycling hotline on 01905 722233.

Replacement sacks can also be picked up from various locations including Sansome Walk swimming pool, Guildhall, customer service centre in Farrier Street, and St John's sports centre.