A bin man has explained the correct way to recycle plastic carrier bags, a household item that almost everyone accumulates. Ashley C, who regularly shares waste and recycling advice on social media, responded to a follower who asked why reusable supermarket bags cannot simply be thrown into household recycling bins.

The follower's comment read: "Why can't we recycle recyclable bags like carrier bags from Asda etc? I do reuse mine but sometimes have too many."

In a clip that has racked up more than 7,000 views, Ashley urged shoppers to keep reusing their bags for as long as possible before returning them to supermarkets that have dedicated collection points.

"That's a lovely thing to have, too many bags. Just save them. Save them indoors until a couple of them rip and have holes in the bottom of them and then you take them back to Asda," he said. "Most Asdas or Tescos or Sainsburys will have a bin, probably by the checkout, to put carrier bags in and then they will recycle them from that point onwards."

Ashley, from South East England, added that shoppers should simply take their spare bags with them on future grocery trips before dropping them into the collection bins. He also singled out one supermarket's bags as being particularly useful for another purpose.

"The Co-op ones are the best ones because you can use them for food waste because they're biodegradable," he said. "Compostable bags and normal carrier bags are not."

However, he warned that rules vary depending on where you live. "Some councils allow you to put it in carrier bags, check first, but otherwise it's normally just Co-op," he added. "If you need to put them somewhere, take them back with you to the shops and they'll recycle them for you."