A £65M scheme to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill has won Government backing.

North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York Council are working together on an initiative to increase recycling and composting.

The authorities also hope to create a mechanical and biological treatment plant and an energy-from-waste plant.

Council chiefs hope the measures will divert three quarters of the county's municipal waste away from landfill sites by 2033.

The proposal has won the support of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which has approved a grant of £65m to help pay for the scheme.

The private finance initiative (PFI) funding will go to the company which wins the contract to built the facilities.

Announcing Defra's backing, Environment Minister Joan Ruddock said: "Reducing our reliance on landfill is an essential part of the drive to tackle climate change and I welcome the ambitious commitment made by the North Yorkshire County Council and York City Council partnership.

"PFI agreements like this one provide an incentive for local authorities and industry to work together to achieve our goals for cutting waste, reducing its environmental impact and making better use and reuse of the waste we create."

A joint statement issued by the two councils described the £65m grant as a valuable contribution to help offset costs to residents.

It said: "The Government's requirement to reduce the amount of household waste disposed of in landfill sites, and the severe financial penalties for not doing so, means that different methods of disposal are essential if the two authorities are to fulfil their legal obligations."

Council chiefs say the type and specification of the waste treatment plants will be decided through the procurement process.

It has been agreed that any new facilities will be built within North Yorkshire County Council boundaries and not the City of York.

It is hoped the facilities will be operational by 2012-13.

Councils have been told to reduce the volume of biodegradable public waste sent to landfill to 75 per cent of the 1995 levels by 2010, 50 per cent by 2013, and 35 per cent by 2020.