The Israeli public threw 15.2 million plastic beverage bottles into recycling bins throughout the month of May – a 26% increase compared to the same period in 2010, when the number of bottles totaled 12.1 million. The ELA recycling corporation, which is responsible on behalf of beverage manufacturers to collect the bottles for recycling purposes, says the public's awareness of the issue has been improved thanks to a new PR campaign launched recently in addition to the corporation's extensive efforts in the past two years. According to ELA, the campaign followed an investment in infrastructure over the past year, which led to a 55% increase in the number of recycling bins placed across the country, reaching 13,000 bins, including - for the first time - in Arab local authorities. As part of the move, the corporation clarified, the number of recycling bins is expected to reach 15,000 by the end of 2011. ELA Chairwoman Nehama Ronen addressed the figures, saying that "this is the best proof of the Israeli citizen's willingness to make the required effort to protect the environment he or she lives in." The corporation noted that the investment in infrastructure was supported in a survey showing that Israelis who avoid recycling usually do so as the recycling bins' are far from their homes (30% of respondents) or due to the lack of bins on their street/in their neighborhood (18.2%). But the dramatic increase recorded in May expresses, according to the corporation, an ongoing upward trend in recycling volumes in the past three months. February, for example, saw a 20% rise in the recycling volumes compared to the same month last year (from 8.9 million bottles to 10.7 million), March saw a 16% rise (from 1.9 million to 13.1 million) and April – a 17% rise (from 11.3 million to 13.9 million). In total, some 64.6 million containers were collected in the first half of 2011, compared to 53.6 million collected during the same period last year. Ronen estimates that the corporation will exceed its target of 35% at the end of 2011, standing at 40%. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook