RESIDENTS have stepped up their recycling in an area of York after being given a helping hand by City of York Council.

The 12-week Smarter York Challenge, which targeted 600 properties in the Clifton area, led to a six per cent increase in recycling.

Residents were given street specific stickers to display on the front of their recycling boxes and 200 ‘no junk’ mail stickers were displayed in residents’ homes, significantly helping to reduce the amount of potential waste going to landfill.

“The average family receives 650 pieces of junk mail per year, which equates to around 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water and 390 gallons of oil per tonne of junk mail produced,” said a council spokeswoman.

A new textile bank was also installed on Crichton Avenue, encouraging residents to recycle their old items of clothing rather then sending these to landfill.

Friends of St Nicholas Fields and Greenfields School Community Garden were also on hand to provide composting advice to people who wanted to start composting or advice about their existing compost bins.

A community drop in event also took place earlier this month in Clifton to provide a one-stop shop for residents’ waste and recycling questions.