A CITY-WIDE drive is urging residents to recycle their paper, cans and glass bottles by putting them out for fortnightly collection.

Stickers are being placed on 120,000 wheeled bins at the start of an advertising campaign which will follow from the end of the month.

The drive is being made across Wearside to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill sites.

Sunderland City Council is urging residents to use their kerb-it and green-it recycling containers, which are collected on alternate weeks co-inciding with the day of household waste collections.

The kerb-it containers are for glass, paper and metal cans, while the green-it bins are for grass cuttings, weeds and other garden waste.

Posters, banners and other advertising material, including back-of-bus adverts, will spread the message from the end of this month, while fridge magnets will be posted through every letterbox next month.

Jim Alprovich, assistant head of environmental services, said: "This campaign has been designed to remind people how easy it is to recycle their household waste.

"Everyone has a part to play in conserving resources by getting into the habit of doing simple things regularly, such as placing empty glass bottles, papers or cans in a kerb-it box."

Further information about recycling in Sunderland and surrounding areas is available on www.sunderland.gov. uk/recycling, while kerb-it boxes can be requested on 0191-520 5503.