A COUNCIL is taking the lead in reycling with the launch of a drinks carton scheme at sites in the district.

Wear Valley District Council is one of the first local authorities in the country to trial such a programme, which is to be run in conjunction with drinks companies.

Each year, UK drinks carton manufacturers produce about 55,000 tonnes of paper-based cartons for milk, juice, sauces, other liquid foods and drinks.

This equates to about 2.3kg of cartons per household that could be recycled instead of being thrown in the bin.

Cartons cannot be placed into household green recycling boxes, but the new project means they can now be recycled using special collection bins.

They are located at Willington High Street car park, Woodhouse Close Leisure Complex car park and North Bondgate car park, both in Bishop Auckland, with more to be added.

They will then be taken away to a recycling mill and recycled into a number of different products, ranging from plasterboard liner to high-strength paper bags and envelopes.

Paula George, waste minimisation and recycling officer for the district council, said: "Residents want to recycle more and we, as an authority and as a nation, have tough targets to meet."

The scheme is run in association with with Tetra Pak Ltd and the carton industry body Ace UK (Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment).

Richard Hands, environment manager at Tetra Pak Limited and chairman of Ace UK, said: "It's fantastic news that Wear Valley District Council is taking a lead by adding cartons to the list of materials collected for recycling and we very much hope that the initiative is successful."