New recycling bins have been placed along Austin Street in Forest Hills. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska

QUEENS — New recycling baskets — part of a citywide effort to increase recycling rates — have been introduced to Forest Hills.

The sleek, silver-colored containers with blue and green covers appeared recently along Austin Street, one of the busiest commercial stretches in the neighborhood.

The blue-topped bins are for metal, glass, plastic and cartons. The green-topped bins are for mixed paper.

According to the Department of Sanitation, the bins are short and therefore accessible and easy to use for children and seniors.

Thousands of the new containers, first unveiled in December 2013, will be placed this year throughout the city, primarily along commercial strips, according to the DSNY.

“Now, if you want to get rid of a soda can, you can actually pop it into the right bin,” said Frank Gulluscio, district manager at Community Board 6, which covers Forest Hills and Rego Park. “It’s a really effective way of recycling in congested areas and we are excited about it.”