Sedgefield Borough Council's new kerbside recycling scheme aims to significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

In partnership with Durham County, Durham City and Chester-le-Street District Councils, Sedgefield has secured Government support to introduce the scheme to all borough households.

Over the next six months, every household in the borough will receive a kerbside recycling box in which to put their glass jars and bottles, newspapers, magazines, steel tins and drinks cans for recycling.

Collections will be fortnightly and will replace the existing House2House paper service.

Householders will have to place the box at the edge of their property on their designated collection day, which will normally be the regular refuse collection day.

From next Monday, boxes will go out to the Trimdons, Fishburn, Sedgefield and Bishop Middleham, followed by Shildon, School Aycliffe, Aycliffe Village and Middridge in the week beginning May 5.

The Premier Waste Management Company will donate £1 to local charities for every tonne collected.

Lucy Hovvels, Sedgefield's lead member for the environment, said: "This excellent scheme makes recycling convenient and will help us reach the targets we have set within our waste management strategy.

"We estimate that in Sedgefield borough there could be as much as 7,500 tonnes of material that could be recycled through the scheme every year."

Oliver Priestley-Leach, Sedgefield Borough Council's waste management officer, said: "Details of the scheme will be delivered with the box. Because the scheme is so big, it will be phased in over a period of months.

"Each household will be informed when the scheme is coming to their area with further leaflets giving details of collection days, what can be recycled and how the scheme will work."