EAST Lancashire households are being asked to remember to recycle their plastic pots, tubs and trays and give good-quality used items to charity shops over the festive season,

Ribble Valley North-East's Cllr Albert Atkinson, Lancashire County Council's waste management boss, said: "I'd ask everyone to help reduce the amount of waste we generate this Christmas.

"Now that we're processing more types of plastic we don't want to miss the opportunity to ensure as many items as possible are recycled. Recyclable materials are easier to process when they're clean so I'd also ask people to give food containers a quick rinse.

"I'd also ask people to make the extra effort to save any good quality items which could be re-used. There's a good market for second-hand items."

He said that since October residents of the county council's 12 boroughs - which include Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale -have been able to put clean plastic pots, tubs and trays in their recycling bins, along with plastic bottles for liquids.