Anyone living in Southville or Lawrence Weston may have wondered why they got a pink plastic bag through their door this week, but it turns out it's all in aid of recycling.

Bristol City Council is running a pilot scheme this month for the disposal of small electrical items.

Residents will be able to put any unwanted electrical items that fit in the bag, like toasters or kettles, out for collection along with their regular recycling.

Around 7,000 properties in Lawrence Weston and Southville have been included in the pilot scheme, which will run from Monday, January 5, to Friday, January 30.

This gives people five potential collection dates.

The bag also serves as a leaflet, with a printed explanation of how the scheme works.

If some residents require more than one bag, they can contact customer services, and extra bags will be posted to them.

Anything that won't fit in the bag, like fridges or large televisions, are considered bulky waste and should be disposed of at the councils recycling centres as normal.

The council approved the scheme in October, and once the pilot has been completed will consider rolling it out to the rest of the city depending on its success.

A spokesman said: "Once the pilot is completed we will assess the results and look at having it on other areas.

"It wouldn't be every month, but you probably wouldn't need it to be."

Last month a new campaign was launched to encourage people to recycle more electrical items.

Recycle Now, part of the Government-backed not-for-profit company Wrap, is urging people all over the country to take their small electrical goods to drop-off points.

But the councils latest initiative takes their idea one step further, by bringing recycling to the door.

Alternatively, you can drop them at local electrical recycling centres, which in Bristol include St Philip's HWRC on Folly Lane, St Philip's, the Greenway Centre in Doncaster Road, Southmead and the Keynsham Recycling Centre, Pixash Lane, Keynsham.

Figures show 154 million small electrical products were bought in the UK in the past year alone, equating to about 551,000 tonnes.

This averages at about 22kg per household, or 188 mobile phones or 22 hairdryers per household.

But in the same period only 56,000 tonnes of small electrical items were recycled. A typical iron contains enough steel to make 13 food cans.

Small electrical goods are classified as anything up to and including a 14in TV in size.

A council spokesman said: "The bulky waste collections deal with large electrical goods.

"However, people struggle to deal safely and effectively with small electrical items.

"Charity shops often cannot accept them for safety reasons, and they are not suitable for general waste disposal.

"Often, they just end up knocking around the house forever.

"The council is piloting the solution – an occasional collection.

"When a pink bag comes through the door, that's the time to rifle through the cupboards for things like broken hairdryers, old-fashioned mobile phones and obsolete games consoles.

"We can ensure that they are recycled and disposed of safely."

All residents can call the council to collect large items, electrical or otherwise, call 0117 922 2100.