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The Perfect Bin Scheme was organised by Suffolk County Council and Viridor Waste Management Ltd, with local help from Suffolk Coastal, and children from Hollesley and Peasenhall Primary Schools joined seven others across the county.

Cllr Andrew Nunn, Cabinet Member for the Natural Environment, said:

?The scheme showed the children what materials they can recycle from their own homes and how important it is to make sure that they are putting out perfect bins, those which only have those items that can be collected. A competition was held as a fun way to get the children involved in taking responsibility for the waste from their house. It is never too early to learn how important it is not just to recycle, but to do it properly.?

To enter the competition, the children needed to present their home recycling bins as 'perfect' and attach a bin hanger with their details on it. Suffolk Coastal Services collection crews checked the bins and if they met the 'perfect' test, the entry was included in the prize draw, with eight children winning prizes from Peasenhall and Hollesley.

Cllr Nunn said:

?The response from the children was excellent, and we had loads of potential winners, but the reality is that we are all going to be the winners if we can improve our recycling habits. It will save us the earth if we can both increase the amount we recycle and by making sure we do not mix up our materials with waste that cannot currently be recycled.?

Every home in Suffolk Coastal can currently put out their newspapers, magazines and junk mail out for collection every fortnight, and every home also has a brown bin for garden waste, all food waste, cardboard and shredded paper. In addition, from this month there are now 14,000 homes that have blue-lidded wheelie bins for recycling plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, cans, tins and foil.

Suffolk Coastal's residents have got the best record in Suffolk for not mixing up their recycled waste. All recycling loads received at Blakenham have been classified as grade A excellent.

Suffolk Coastal's recycling rates hit 40 per cent last year, but it is estimated that if the current amount of household waste continues to be taken to landfill sites, the cost to Council Taxpayers could rise by ?9 million a year by 2017.