UK homes produced 29.1million tonnes of waste in 2006/07, of which 31 per cent was collected for recycling, according to Government statistics.

Although increasing, this figure is still low compared to some EU countries, who recycle more than half of their waste.

Every household in the North East produces on average a tonne of waste a year and this is growing. There is still a huge amount of rubbish which could be recycled that ends up in landfill sites and is harmful to the environment.

However, for some households the whole process is confusing – a selection of multi-coloured boxes for different materials which are collected on different days.

All of these can be a daunting prospect to busy families, which means many choose what they believe to be the simple option – put it all in the same bin.

This is a shame as recycling is an excellent way of saving energy and conserving the environment, plus it is not as complicated as it may appear.

Jim Alprovich is assistant head of environmental services at Sunderland City Council.

He said: "We can't carry on putting all of our rubbish in the ground, so landfill sites are just not an option any more. We need people participation.

"There are some areas which still have low recycling levels and we are aiming to get everywhere up to the same high standard."
Sunderland City Council carried out a survey to find out what residents want and need to recycle.

Kerb-it is the recycling scheme they came up with and it allows people to recycle with the minimum of effort on their part.

Jim said: "The kerbside service will make it easier for them to recycle their waste. It will make a big difference to the amount of rubbish we dispose of every day."The service is carried out for the council by Premier Waste Management Ltd, a locally-based private company.

Households are provided with a special collection box which can store newspapers, magazines, junk mail, white telephone directories, glass bottles and jars, steel and aluminium cans.

Jim said: "They are collected once a fortnight on the same day as we empty your wheeled bin or collect your sacks.

"But our 'bring' recycling sites located across the city are available to dispose of your paper, bottles, cans, clothes and books.

"It is important to stop burying ourselves in rubbish, it is about environmental benefits and looking after our planet for ourselves and generations to come."

* If you don't have a kerb-it box, call 520 5503 and one will be delivered to your door – you can even get an extra one if you need it.

Any other products that can't go in your Kerb-it box can be deposited at "bring" sites around the city.

To find out about your nearest recycling facilities, visit the council website, www.sunderland.gov.uk/recycling and use its postcode locator.

What should go in the Kerb-It box?

YES PLEASE:
* Paper;
* Newspapers, envelopes with windows removed, magazines, junk mail, catalogues, all other white and coloured paper;
* Metals;
* Aluminium and steel food and drink cans rinsed out (and squashed if possible).
* Aerosol cans – unsquashed;
* Glass;
* Rinsed-out bottles and jars.

NO THANKS;
* Plastic or metal caps, lids or bottle tops;
* Windows from envelopes;
* Cereal boxes, washing powder boxes or any other cardboard;
* Wrapping paper or greetings cards;
* Window panes, windscreens, broken glass, cookware, light bulbs or spectacles;
* Crockery or other ceramics;
* Tin foil or paint cans;
* Yellow pages.

Paper should be placed at the bottom, with the glass and squashed cans on top, to reduce the chance of items being blown out of the box.If you have more paper, glass or cans than will fit, just put them next to the recycling box in a carrier bag.

Top tips to savour

Don't bin your old clothes. Charity shops need them, or use special recycling containers citywide.

* You can now recycle old electrical items at Beach Street Recycling Centre.
* Use the green waste recycling bin – collections will begin in early spring – or use a compost bin, costing from £8 by calling 0845 077 0757 or
visit www.recyclenow.com/compost.
* Easter eggs use more packaging than any other sweets – buy bars of chocolate instead!
* Don't be attracted by supermarket offers that encourage you to buy more than you need. So much food (and money) is wasted when it heads straight to the landfill. If you do have leftovers, freeze them for another day!
* Try to choose items at the supermarket with less packaging and use "bags for life".
* Instead of buying books use your library, it's much more sustainable and free!

What happens next....

Glass

Glass is taken to a treatment plant where it is sorted by colour and washed to remove any impurities.

The glass is crushed and melted, then moulded into new products such as bottles and jars.

It may be used for alternative purposes such as brick manufacture or decorative uses.

Glass does not degrade through the recycling process, so it can be recycled again and again.

Paper

Once at the recycling plant, paper is separated into types and grades.

The paper is then washed with soapy water to remove inks, plastic film, staples and glue.

It is put into a large tank where it is mixed with water to create "slurry".

By adding other materials, different paper products can be created, such as cardboard or office paper.

The slurry is spread using large rollers into large thin sheets.

The paper is left to dry, and then it is rolled up ready to be cut and sent back to the shops.

Aluminium

Aluminium is collected from your recycling bins and taken to a treatment plant.

It then goes through a re-melt process and turns into molten aluminium –this removes the coatings and inks that may be present on the metal.

In the treatment plant, the aluminium is sorted and cleaned ready for reprocessing.

It is then made into large blocks called ingots, each one containing about 1.6million drinks cans.

The ingots are sent to mills where they are rolled out.

This gives the aluminium greater flexibility and strength.

This is then made into more aluminium products, such as cans, chocolate wrapping and ready-meal packaging – the whole process takes as little as six weeks.

Did you know that:

* One recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for three hours.
* One recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
* One recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for three hours.
* 70 per cent less energy is required to recycle paper compared to making it from raw materials.