GREEN tours around a waste disposal site this month are aimed at encouraging more people in South Gloucestershire to recycle.

The guided visits to the Sort It centre in Yate take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout June and organisers hope it will get more residents recycling their rubbish.

David Robertson, recycling manager at SITA South Gloucestershire, said: "This is a great chance for people to find out more about what happens behind the scenes.

"We know that lots of residents will be interested to see how much we recycle and what happens to the material we collect."

People taking part will see what happens to their rubbish once it has been collected by SITA.

The firm, waste disposal contractors for South Gloucestershire Council, collects more than 130,000 tonnes of rubbish every year from residents’ kerbside collections, public recycling banks and the Sort It centres in the area. Just under half (43 percent) of the rubbish, including cans, glass, paper, cardboard, garden waste, electrical appliances, plastic bottles, rubble, metal and batteries, is recovered for recycling.

The tours (5.30-6.30pm) are open to South Gloucestershire residents, including children aged five and over, and are free. To book your place, call South Gloucestershire Council’s Streetcare helpdesk on 01454 868000, email streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or visit www.southglos.gov.uk/sortit