CHRISTCHURCH residents will be able to recycle more than ever before when a new waste collection is launched later this year.

Items including plastic yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and meat trays will be collected for the first time under the scheme launched by Dorset Waste Partnership.

The DWP, which is made up of the seven Dorset councils, not including Bournemouth and Poole, has added mixed plastic packaging to their range of materials they will be recycling.

Residents in Christchurch and East Dorset will be the first to change to this new service in the autumn, while the other areas will follow suit in spring 2013 and 2015.

Cllr Hilary Cox, chair of the DWP joint committee said: “Being able to recycle mixed plastics as part of the new ‘recycle for Dorset’ service is great news for residents as it will be quicker and easier not having to sort which plastics can be recycled.

“This will be an improvement to the service residents currently receive and reduce the amount of rubbish we send to landfill, which damages the environment and costs us millions of pounds in tax every year. It will also enable councils to recover value by selling these materials to recycling markets, helping to improve efficiency.”

Earlier this year all of the partner councils agreed to introduce the new service to replace the 12 existing collections across Dorset’s six districts.

It is hoped that by working together, the councils can drive down future costs by £2million a year. The new service will see a weekly food waste collection, a fortnightly recycling collection, a fortnightly rubbish collection and an optional fortnightly garden waste collection for an annual fee.

Public roadshows are being held across Christchurch and East Dorset where residents can see the new bins and speak to staff.

Go to dorsetforyou .com/recyclefordorset for more information.