Thanks to Sheffield residents, blue bin tonnage has increased by 700 tonnes compared to the same period last year (January - August), that's equivalent to a whopping one hundred African elephants! The scheme was first introduced in 2003 and now there are 193,500 homes in the city with a blue bin. As part of Veolia Environmental Services' 2007 communications campaign, a blue bin shaped flyer was distributed to every household with the Sheffield City Council Summer edition of'Your Sheffield'. With a really clear'Yes Please' and'No Thanks' format, the flyer aimed to make the recycling message clear and simple for everyone.

The flyer continued the momentum started with the launch of a new'if in doubt, check it out' outdoor advertising campaign in Spring. The promotion aimed to encourage Sheffield residents to use their blue bin for the recycling of paper and card and lasted throughout March and April.

Judith Turner director of operations, collection and recycling at Veolia in Sheffield comments: "Our aim is to encourage everyone in the city to do their bit for the environment. The kerbside collection scheme for paper and card makes it easy for Sheffield residents to participate. In a recent customer satisfaction survey residents asked for more information on what they could put in their blue bin, we have listened to their views and have tried to make the recycling message as accessible as possible. We would like all residents to make sure they put the right materials in their blue bin for recycling and keep the momentum going!"

The paper and card collected from the blue bin kerbside collection service is taken to Veolia's Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) to be sorted and graded before it is sent on to be recycled. Over 98% of materials that are put into the blue bin will be sent to be recycled into newspapers, magazines, cardboard and packaging.