DOORSTEP recycling is being extended to every household in Darlington as part of a new green initiative.

Darlington Borough Council will launch the scheme, called Time to Recycle, in September and everyone should have the chance to get involved by December.

The doorstep project will be introduced in three phases across the borough.

Two weeks before each phase, all the houses in an area will receive a 55 litter plastic recycling bin, an information leaflet and a calendar.

Residents will then be able to recycle cans, bottles and plastic by putting them in the bin and leaving them on the kerbside for collection once a fortnight. Paper and cardboard will also be collected. The collections will take place on the same day as general refuse collections.

Council cabinet member Stephen Harker said: "Our new scheme will give everyone the opportunity to recycle a full range of materials from right outside their homes. We are aiming to collect nearly 7,000 tones of recyclable material in our first year of operation."

The council, which was awarded £536,000 from the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs to support the scheme, will also work with a charity to arrange monthly textile collections.