As the nation gets ready to cheer England to Euro glory this week, the Environment Agency is reminding people to think green as well as red and white and ‘kick’ their cans and bottles into the recycling bin this summer.

Supermarkets and off-licences are estimating that the nation will down hundreds of millions of bottles and cans of beer and wine this summer as they watch the progress of Europe’s top football teams in the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal.

The Environment Agency is encouraging people not to be left on the subs bench and make sure that they tackle their empties by giving them the green card and send them off to the recycling bin.

Sir John Harman, Chairman of the Environment Agency said: "Sporting events like the Euro 2004 event often mean that wine and beer sales increase dramatically. That means hundreds of millions of additional empty bottles and cans! While we don’t want to discourage people from enjoying themselves, we do want to make sure that people don’t score an environmental own goal.

"I hope England fare better in Euro 2004 against Europe’s finest than they do in the recycling stakes. If this tournament were based on how well we recycle we would fail to qualify for the next stage. We already produce more rubbish than we can handle, so it is important that people show team spirit and take their empties to the local recycling bank."

Tips for recycling your cans and bottles include:

• Save on ‘va-va-voom’ - if your council operates a kerbside collection scheme, sort your empties and put them out for collection.
• If you don't have a collection service, limber up between matches with a jog to the recycling bank - these can often be found at local supermarkets and car parks. Your council should be able to tell you where they are.
• Do like Michael Owen and use your feet - crush your cans so that they take up less space in the box.
• Finish them off like Wayne Rooney - remove any plastic or metal from glass bottles before you recycle