Shropshire Council chiefs have said they are happy with the number of people who took part in the first day of a plastic bottle recycling trial, as part of the county’s new kerbside collection service.

Villagers in Whittington, near Oswestry, became the first in Shropshire to put out their plastic bottles.

The scheme is being trialled in the Whittington area and began on Tuesday.

James Thompson, waste prevention officer at Shropshire Council, said today: “We are really pleased with the first day of the trial because the residents have clearly understood that we can only accept plastic bottles for recycling.

“We would like to thank the residents of Whittington for their efforts and remind residents to please take the lids off and to wash and squash the plastic bottles.”

Collections of the plastic bottles will take place every two weeks, alongside the existing recycling collection.

The plastic bottles to be put out for collection include most kitchen and bathroom bottles such as milk containers, soft drink bottles, shampoo bottles, and washing-up liquid bottles.

Other types of plastic such as yoghurt pots and margarine tubs will not be collected.

Only those households who have received a leaflet will be able to recycle plastic bottles as part of the trial.

Whittington was chosen for the trial as, according to Shropshire’s waste contractors Veolia Environmental Services, it was representative of much of Shropshire and a compact area contained on a single waste collection round.

The trial will last until next February when it is then expected to be rolled out to the rest of the Oswestry area before being introduced to north Shropshire and the Shrewsbury and south Shropshire districts, with the former Bridgnorth district due to follow by March 2011.