Supermarkets are helping South Oxfordshire District Council to get the recycling message across to more people.

Major stores in Wallingford, Didcot, Thame, Wheatley and Henley will have stocks of the council's green recycling boxes to hand over to anyone who needs them for free.

The aim is to get all households in the district to put out boxes for the weekly kerbside collections. At present, 53 per cent of households take part in the scheme.

People can put out newspapers, cardboard, cans and plastics in the green boxes.

There are also bottle banks and other recycling skips in various locations around the area.

Council amenities team spokesman Tom Southall said: "The 53 per cent rate is good, but there's a lot of room for improvement.

"We should be aiming for 100 per cent participation."

In January the council plans to stage campaigns in communities where recycling is at a low level to persuade residents to join the scheme and reduce the amount of waste going into landfill sites.