CRUSH and bust those Christmas cans and plastic bottles — that's the message to people in West Devon during the festive season.

The Crush or Bust campaign run by the council started in September and is aimed at reducing the volume of wasteful air in the clear recycling sacks.

Since the campaign started, journeys to the recycling centre in Somerset have been reduced by almost 20 per cent.

Kathyn Bellard, West Devon's recycling officer, said the idea has proved very popular with original and imaginative ideas being forwarded to the council to help the problem.

'These included using a vacuum cleaner to suck air out of the bags, heating plastic bottles in hot water to make them easier to squash, and driving over them in your car — obviously great care should be taken if adopting any of these methods,' she said.

The campaign has also caught the imagination of Exeter University engineering and design students, who are looking into creating a special machine to do the job as part of a project.

Cllr Richard Phillips, chairman of the council's waste reduction and recycling group, said: 'Waste in Devon is rising at a rate of four per cent this year.

'If we shop carefully and avoid over-packaged goods, it will reduce the amount of rubbish we have to throw away.

'By composting and recycling as much as possible, we can all do our bit in West Devon at Christmas.'