Almost three-quarters of young people in London think their parents should be recycling more, a survey has shown.

The poll of 11 to 18-year-olds revealed 51% of their households in the city always recycle.

But the study also shows 74% still think their parents or carers should recycle even more of their rubbish.

The survey found youngsters thought mothers (69%) did most of the recycling compared with 23% of fathers.

When asked what they would say to other families in London to encourage them to recycle, more than half the young people said they would explain that it was easier than people think.

Six out of ten would urge their neighbours to recycle more by making them aware that recycled rubbish can be used to make new products.

Boris Johnson unveiled his green plans for London recently with a plan to pay Londoners to recycle.

The London Mayor pledged to boost household recycling by up to 200 per cent and reduce waste sent to landfill. He said he would work with the boroughs to reward householders for going green - rather than fining them.

He added: “It will actually improve the lives of thousands of Londoners.”

Local authorities currently pay £24 per tonne of waste sent to landfill, rising to £48 per tonne in the next three years, and are likely to pass on the cost to households through a bin tax.

But the Mayor has proposed a scheme which operates in more than 200 US cities and towns to keep down landfill. The firm would give every household a bin and every block of flats a box for all their recyclable waste - which would be weighed when collected.

The amount recycled would then be recorded and the household issued vouchers which can be spent at various outlets. In the US, more than 300 companies including Starbucks, Ikea and Timberland are part of the scheme.

He also plans to invest £6 million in making the capital’s open green spaces cleaner and safer and planting 10,000 street trees in areas which need them most. He said: “Areas that have pleasant, clean, open spaces are less likely to suffer from crime.”

His other green ideas include:

• Protecting the green belt and garden spaces.

• Cutting London’s carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2025.

• Opposing Heathrow’s third runway.

• Encouraging us to install insulation in return for council tax rebates.

• Making London a genuinely cycle-friendly city, and hybrid buses

• An annual £20,000 prize for the best ideas for low carbon technology.

Shoppers in Stoke Newington will get a chance to hang their eco-guilt out to dry – and swap their plastic carriers for a fashionable cloth bag.

Local green group Bring Your Own Bag N16 Campaign has arranged for a washing line where people can hang up their unwanted plastic bags.

It will be put up outside William Patten School in Stoke Newington Church Street between 10am and 1pm on 17 May. Shoppers who hang a carrier will also get a campaign sticker.

It is estimated that up to 200million plastic bags are thrown away every year in Britain.

Campaign founder, Andrew Lambert, said:

“Since we launched the campaign we have received enormous local support. We hope to have hundreds of bags on our washing line by the end of the day.

“This will be the first step in our campaign to rid Stoke Newington of these bags, which are a blight on the local environment.”

Lewisham Council is launching its annual quest to find the “Best Recycling Street” in the borough.

The Council wants to find dedicated recyclers to champion the recycling cause in their street - to encourage fellow residents to recycle more each week in their street than any other in the borough. Residents can nominate themselves and their road, a section of a road, or even another street. Then all they need to do is speak to their neighbours and persuade them to recycle that bit more!

Councillor Susan Wise, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, said:

Residents have always responded well to recycling schemes and our recycling rates are going up, but there’s so much we could all do to recycle more.

We want to find the best recycling street in Lewisham - so if you’re already a recycling convert, or even if you’re just getting interested, and you want to get more people to act then get involved and make your nomination.

Full story here.