Old clothes and sheets being unnecessarily tossed asunder is costing £4m-a-year, according to Surrey County Council.

The county's 11 district and borough councils spend more than £1m-a-year disposing of unwanted clothes and textiles, and miss out on raising more than £3m from recycling those items.

A campaign launched by the councils hopes to reduce the volume of old clothes and textiles put in the bin. Items that can be recycled at banks in all the county's recycling centres include shirts, coats, towels, bags, belts, curtains, tea towels and pairs of shoes or boots.

Mike Goodman, Surrey County Council cabinet member for environment and planning, said: "Many of us donate old clothes to charity shops, pass them down to friends or family, sell them online or use recycling services but more than 10,000 tonnes of clothes and home textiles still ended up in the bin last year."

For more information visit your district or borough council website or go to recycleforsurrey.org.uk.