THOUSANDS of residents are being asked to work to a colour-coded plan for kerbside rubbish collection.

Almost 7,000 households in Hartlepool's Fens, Greatham, Newton Bewley and parts of Owton Manor, Rift House and Rossmere wards are being asked to adopt a new approach from Monday.

They have been given brown wheelie bins for garden waste and white poly bags for plastic bottles and cardboard - in addition to their existing green wheelie bins for general domestic refuse, which cannot be recycled, blue bags for paper and blue boxes for cans, bottles and textiles.

The scheme also involves the introduction from Monday of a new weekly collection regime - with green wheelie bins and blue boxes being emptied one week, and brown bins and white poly bags.

All collections will continue to take place on the day that residents' refuse has previously been collected.

Colin Ogden, Hartlepool Borough Council's waste and recycling manager, said: "Recycling reduces the need for waste disposal, the costs of which are continuing to rise and which are, in turn, diverting money away from more important needs.

"We all have old habits, but with a few simple changes we can all help to save money, reduce waste and save the environment. We will still be collecting people's rubbish, just as we always have - we are only asking them to present it differently."