INNOVATIVE schemes have been launched to help protect North Yorkshire's environment.

The county council has introduced initiatives to be highlighted as part of European Green Week from tomorrow to Friday and on Saturday for World Environment Day.

In one scheme, the council's road lighting unit has started using eco-friendly recycled bollards on all new traffic calming measures.

The bollards are made from old ones that have reached the end of service life and were likely to have been dumped in landfill.

No new plastics are used in the production process and the finished bollards are 100 per cent recycled.

A programme to replace all old mercury street lights with modern low-power fluorescent tubes in the next five years will deliver improved illumination and reduced light pollution, as well as leading to a 50 per cent saving in energy consumption.

The council is also installing solar-powered road traffic signs to save energy.

Councillor Heather Garnett, chairwoman of the environment and heritage scrutiny committee, said: "The council is doing much to protect and enhance the environment, but everyone needs to do their bit, such as using less electricity, and by reducing, reusing and recycling household waste."

The council is also urging parents to use modern washable nappies rather than plastic nappies which account for four per cent of all household waste nationally each year.