Footie fans are reminded to toss those empties into their recycling box rather than the bin during the World Cup.

Recent stats have predicted that 86% of the population is planning to watch the World Cup at home, splashing out £240m on food and £297m on alcohol if England makes it through to the second round. With this rising to staggering £1.12bn if they make it to the final.

Locally, this could mean a huge increase in the amount of beer bottles, canned lager, fizzy drinks, ready meals and takeaways being purchased. Much of this packaging can be recycled and council bosses are encouraging people to aim for their black box, rather than the bin.

Cardboard food packaging can be put into the blue recycling bag. The recycled items will be turned in pulp and refashioned into new items including cards, paper and even road surface materials. 

Glass bottles, minus their caps should be placed into the black box, with the top removed.  Glass can be recycled many times, into further bottles, and even insulation materials.

Plastic drinks bottles can go into the green recycling bag. The council does not recycle any type of plastic other than bottles as they are made from a lower quality plastic. Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for environment, said:

“We tend to see an increase in the amount of items put out for recycling during certain times of the year when people are celebrating at home, Christmas is an obvious one, but also larger sporting events.

“The World Cup is a perfect opportunity for people to up their recycling rates, by putting their empties and recyclable items into their black box and green and blue bags. People can always order extra bags for free from Dudley Council Plus or alternatively they can put any extra items into their own plastic boxes or clear bags and our operatives will add them to the collection.”

Each year, throughout kerbside collections, Dudley Council recycles nearly 40,000 tonnes of glass, paper, card, tins, cans and aerosols. For more information about Dudley’s recycling scheme visit recyclingfordudley.gov.uk.