A GARDEN waste collection scheme is to be piloted in Newton Aycliffe.
Sedgefield Borough Council has secured a £47,000 grant from the County Durham Environmental Trust to launch a 12-month trial.
About 6,000 properties between the Woodham and Greenfield areas will benefit from a free weekly kerbside collection of garden waste.
The council will supply trial area households with biodegradable plastic or paper sacks for garden waste.
Grass cuttings, leaves, hedge trimmings, plants and weeds are acceptable to be turned in to compost and used as mulch.
The trial scheme will help determine the most appropriate method for collecting garden waste.
Oliver Priestley-Leach, the borough's waste management officer, said: "The grant has enabled us to introduce a scheme we have been hoping to start for some time.
"We estimate that in Newton Aycliffe more than 200 tonnes of garden waste is thrown out as rubbish every year. By composting waste we will reduce the burden on our landfill sites and help to protect the environment."
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