The glass recycling pilot scheme begins this Monday, in a bid to improve the quality of the recycling collected.

Glass is notoriously difficult to process with other different types of waste for recycling, as it often becomes contaminated with different materials and damages the recycling facility which separates the products.

With this in mind, the council is carrying out a pilot scheme for 12 weeks to assess whether collecting glass separately improves the quality of the material collected, which will improve the markets for reuse, saving tax payer's money.

17,000 properties from 10 wards across the city are taking part in the pilot scheme. Each property selected for the scheme has or will receive a letter to their home, as well as a blue lockable caddy to put their glass in.

Residents should put all their glass into the caddy and present it at the kerbside along with their general waste where it will be collected every two weeks.

Cllr Michael Michael, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Environment and Recycling, said: "The city's recycling rate is increasing but as well as the quantity of the materials collected, we also want to improve the quality.

"Different waste types only count towards recycling when they are actually sold for reuse. So taking glass as an example, when it is processed through the recycling facility, it often needs to go through a secondary process which means that it costs the council to recycle it.

"Recycling is a business and it is all about markets, prices for different materials go up and down. It is hoped that by collecting cleaner glass, we can get a sustainable market for this product, creating much needed income to put back into Council services."

The Council has analysed the different types of waste that residents are putting out for recycling and by volume (amount), glass only makes up a small amount of the material.

The size of the container has been carefully selected to ensure that it is adequate for most households and when full, it is not too heavy for our waste collection staff or residents to lift.

If there is a requirement, then an additional free glass caddy can be available for residents on the scheme, but residents are asked to take part in the pilot for at least two collections to make sure that an additional caddy is required.