RECYCLING glass in the borough is set to be made easier with the introduction of five new designer bottle banks.

Borough council leaders this week agreed to spend £60,000 on the additional banks, which will be installed in Popley and Oakridge, Basingstoke, Sherfield-on-Loddon, Tadley and Woolton Hill in February.

The "Rescape" banks the council plans to buy are either designed to blend into their urban surroundings, or to be eye-catching to encourage people to recycle more.

Council officers estimate that 300 tonnes of glass a year will be collected from the new banks, boosting the recycling rate by 0.5 per cent.

Councillor Elaine Still, the Cabinet's recycling chief, said: "The banks are a cost-effective way to increase recycling by providing attractive facilities for local people, and the interesting design raises the profile of recycling. They have proved to be very good at getting people to recycle more."

Council officers had recommended that bottle banks were a more cost-effective way of collecting glass than kerbside collections, and some residents were worried that leaving glass bottles in the street could lead to anti-social behaviour.

But Cllr Sean Keating, the former Cabinet member for environmental issues, argued that kerbside collection still needed to be considered.

He said: "I see them bottle banks as a substitute for the best alternative, which is household recycling of glass."

The new banks will be added to the 60 existing recycling banks across the borough, which collect a range of materials including glass, clothing and cardboard.

Existing banks in Eastrop, Winklebury, Kings Furlong, Buckskin, Lychpit and South View, in Basingstoke, will be refurbished to encourage residents to use them more.

Heavily-used banks at the Chineham Shopping Centre, Morrisons supermarket, in Basingstoke, and Sainsbury's, in Basingstoke and Tadley, will also be spruced up.

To find your nearest bottle bank, see the the Green Watch section of The Gazette's website, visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/services/recycle/recycling or call the council on 01256 844844.