RESIDENTS across Oxfordshire are being urged to recycle more plastic.

The countywide recycling rate is about 60 per cent but county council leaders want to do better.

Now it is asking people through a consultation with district councils how more can be recycled.

A council report showed that performance in its household waste recycling centres has dipped and that it had failed to recycle 60 per cent of its rubbish.

The local authority said ‘challenges’ at the centres had seen a dip in performance for the first six months of 2017, before charges for non-household waste were brought in last October.

Yvonne Constance is Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for environment said: “There are now more fast-food outlets, more shops resorting to packaging and plastics.

“Not all packaging is bad, as it can protect food and make it last longer, reducing food waste, but the key is to reduce, re-use and recycle.

“We hope to make the younger generation more aware of the impact of plastic on the environment.

“We are asking them and others to give us their views, ideas and tips on how we can make it easier for people to use less plastic and other materials.”

The council will be able to save up to £1.5m as part of savings next year, partly because of a new contract between the council and the company which runs the HWRCs. To take part in the consultation visit recycleforoxfordshire.org.uk