RECYCLING is really catching on among environmentally-aware householders.

Thinking green has helped the York area break its Government-set recycling target for the past year.

Local people helped to recycle and compost 15.4 per cent of household rubbish, beating the target by 3.4 per cent.

Now the recycling team is hoping to continue the success with the next roll-out of its kerbside collection service.

From this week, an extra 9,600 homes will be able to have their recycled waste collected from outside their home, taking the total to 67,690, or 83 per cent of the city.

The kerbside recycling collections use a box for glass jars and bottles and food and drink cans, and a reusable bag for newspapers, magazines, junk mail, catalogues, brochures and white paper.

A spokesman for the waste team, Terry Bradley, said: "We're obviously delighted that we've managed to smash the Government's recycling targets.

"The kerbside recycling collections have played a major role in encouraging residents to think about their rubbish and made it even easier to recycle.

"Last year, nearly 6000 tonnes of glass, cans and paper were recycled through the kerbside collections."