The unmistakable sound of glass bottles being tipped from one container to another has a special significance for Max Marshall, landlord of The Gasworks nightclub in Duke Street, Bradford.

No longer are their empties simply part of the rubbish heading for landfill. Staff separate the bottles from other waste, before sending them for recycling.

"It's great. It is nice to be able to help the environment. All our staff appreciate how important it can be for the future."

The club has signed up to the Have you got the bottle' initiative, which encourages glass recycling among licensed premises.

The simple concept works in the same way as domestic waste collection, with glass being separated from other refuse. It is then picked up by a waste collection company and taken to a glass recycling firm.

General waste is collected and taken to landfill - but without the bottles, there is far less of it.

The not-for-profit initiative is being introduced by Recycling Action Yorkshire (RAY) working in conjunction with PHS Wastetech.

Leeds-based RAY was set up to significantly increase recyling and composting activity throughout Yorkshire and Humberside.

Two-thirds of the region's waste is created by industry, and RAY - set up by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency for Yorkshire and the Humber - works with businesses to cut the amount of waste going to landfill, reducing Greenhouse Gas Reduction emissions and business costs.

"Nationally, 600,000 tonnes of glass is generated from pubs and clubs, with about ten per cent being recycled," says Ben Stone, glass project manager with RAY. "We are trying to improve on that and one area ready for improvement is pubs and clubs."

"Yorkshire is the traditional home of glass manufacture, making half of all bottles in the UK. The first bottle bank in the country was set up in Barnsley more than 30 years ago."

The number of empty bottles generated in pubs and clubs shoots up not only over the festive period but during sporting occasions such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games.

"Public holidays also see a big rise," adds Ben.

"Previously, The Gasworks did not do any recycling - the glass was collected in two containers as general waste. The bins were becoming heavier and heavier", says Harvey Mills, commercial manager with PHS Wastetech, a general trade waste collection and recycling company. "Because of the rising cost of depositing waste in landfill, this had financial implications."

Landfill tax currently stands at £24 per tonne and, starting in April, is to rise by £8 per tonne each year for the next three years.

"We identified that much of the waste was glass, and last June we converted one of the bins to create six glass bins."

In terms of weight, one 1,100-litre bin became six 240-litre bins. The glass is collected weekly, totalling one-and-a-half tonnes a month.

From June to the beginning of December last year, 65,000 bottles had been collected, meaning a saving of 12 tonnes of CO2.

Says Ben: "With the energy you save, you could run a computer non-stop for two-and-a-half years. That is a big saving, with a big environmental impact."

He adds: "With the best will in the world, not everyone will make an effort for environmental causes, but if there are savings to be made it makes a big difference. Domestic properties are ahead in this area, and have seen a lot of support. Now businesses are coming on board."

The glass is transported to the UK's largest collector and recycler of waste glass, Berryman in South Kirkby near Wakefield.

Glass is a low-value material, selling at around £12 a tonne, yet sales of glass collected has enabled PHS to buy a vehicle specifically for glass collections.

A publicity drive had led to more pubs and clubs signing up to the initiative, which is focusing in particular on ten cities and towns across the region including Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, Doncaster, York and Harrogate.

Says Harvey: "The project has gone amazingly well for us. We can see a dramatic change in the tonnage of glass we have collected and we are now collecting 25 tonnes a week."

Adds Ben: "Bradford is an area of growth - we are hoping to expand in Bradford this year. We will be distributing leaflets and carrying out a further promotion."

Common barriers to premises taking up the scheme include the misconception that it will be time-consuming and take up space. But all it takes is a bin under the bar or in a kitchen. "It does not increase the volume of waste," says Ben, "You would simply be replacing one of your waste bins for a glass bin."

At The Gasworks, Max had doubts about how well it would work, and he took some convincing. "We used to have general bins in the club and customers used to throw all sorts of rubbish in there but now we have separate bins for bottles and we separate the bottles from other rubbish.

"I thought it would be difficult and at first it was. It took some getting used to, but it works well now, and we are saving money - I've been converted."

  • For more information contact Ben Stone on 0113 237 8413 or visit www.pubrecycling.org.uk