PEOPLE in Darlington are to be given a close look at a kerbside recycling scheme in action this week.

The green scheme, which comes into effect in the Darlington Borough Council area in September, has already proved contentious.

But council officials are pressing ahead with trials of the system, and yesterday the authority unveiled the 28-tonne collection vehicles which will be at the centre of the collection scheme.

The £90,000 vehicles went into action as officials worked to ensure the kerbside system got off to a smooth start.

The vehicles have compartments for household rubbish, including glass, plastics, newspapers, cans and textiles.

Trials are under way to test the vehicle on designated collection routes.

Under the Time to Recycle scheme, each Darlington home will receive a 55-litre green plastic box in which to store household waste to be recycled.

Once a fortnight, on refuse collection days, the boxes will have to be placed on the kerbside, or in the usual refuse collection area, and the recycling team will empty the boxes and take the waste away to be reprocessed.

The authority hopes to collect about 7,000 tonnes of household refuse for recycling every year.

Councillor Paul Baldwin, the authority's cabinet member for community protection, said: "The trials will enable us to see how the scheme will work in practice, so we are looking forward to it."

Residents will receive a collection date calendar and information about the scheme before the 45,000 boxes are distributed between next month and October.

Earlier this year the council was awarded a grant of £536,000 from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support the scheme. But it sparked controversy after the Tree-savers recycling business was forced to fold.

Its owners said the council's plans were the main reason and 11 people lost their jobs.