EFFORTS to encourage more people in Hartlepool to compost waste, as part of a campaign to protect the environment, have been stepped up.

Hartlepool Borough Council has appointed Clare Belcher, 26, as the authority's first community composting and recycling officer.

Her role involves working with local groups, such as allotment associations, to set up communal composting schemes at various sites.

She said: "My initial aim is to set up two of these schemes, each involving between ten and 12 volunteers, but it is intended to roll out the initiative across the whole town in the longer term. Members of allotment associations, for example, will pool their garden cuttings and waste to create a store of compost which they will then be able to share.

For further information contact Ms Belcher on (01429) 523333.