It is encouraging to read that the council is considering steps to help residents recycle more (Bid to increase recycling rates, March 9).

However, this will not include expansion of the plastics the council collects.

I doubt the current range of opportunities for recycling plastics in York is well known.

I only learnt of it when I picked up a leaflet on the subject at St Nicks.

All plastic items are required to be stamped by the manufacturer with a number (1-7) inside a triangle.

Items marked 1 or 2 can be put in households’ green recycling boxes. Besides plastic bottles, these include plastic trays of the kind that carry fruits at supermarkets.

The range of items stamped with a 5, such as margarine, ice cream, soup and yoghurt pots, can be recycled at the banks in the car parks of Sainsbury’s at Foss Island and Monks Cross.

Items stamped 4, such as covers for bread, lettuce and toilet rolls, can be recycled along with plastic bags at large supermarkets.

And items stamped 3 or 7 can be recycled at the Household Waste Recycling Centres. Only items marked 6 (polystyrene) cannot be recycled at all at the moment.

If we all took up the available opportunities, the great majority of plastics would be recycled in York.

Anne Rylatt, Caedmon Close, York