WYRE Forest people have received a pat on the back for showing a lot of bottle and proving a "glass act" when it comes to recycling.

This month sees the district council's Grime's A Crime campaign in association with the Shuttle Times and News turn its attention to recycling - just in time to coincide with an impressive milestone.

Since collections began in 1981, 11,000 tonnes of glass - equal to 33 million glass containers - have been recycled in the district - saving enough energy to power a million televisions for 49-and-a-half hours, according to council Greendesk officer Beth Williams. Brian Glass (right), Wyre Forest District Council's portfolio holder for environmental health and community safety, is joined by Billy Bottle in Kidderminster's Bromsgrove Street car park to celebrate the milestone in district glass recycling.

And residents have been doing their bit, with Wyre Forest's recycling rate, doubling to six per cent this year - although the Government has set a target of 25 per cent to be met in five years.

Ms Williams said: "This is a fantastic achievement for the district. In taking bottles to the bottle bank for recycling we are saving enormous amounts of energy and cutting down on global warming gas emissions."

As part of Grime's A Crime, which aims to make litter and shabbiness a thing of the past in Wyre Forest, work has been carried out to improve the district's 15 recycling centres.

They have been signposted and subjected to a new weekly cleansing programme, while paper and bottle banks are being replaced, with new rubbish bins to be installed.

And after being cleaned in the council's Green Street depot, can banks will be decorated with artwork designed by Spennells First School pupils along with community artist Eric Klein Velderman.

"This is an exciting project, in which we hope to transform a rather mundane amenity into public art, promoting the 'face up to work' message throughout the district," Ms Williams added.