A SUCCESSFUL composting initiative, which has taken off in a Teesdale village, has now been extended to parts of Barnard Castle.

Rotters, piloted in Bowes, is a subsidiary of Teesdale Conservation Volunteers and was set up as part of a community composting project. Everyone in the village was given a bucket for kitchen waste and sacks for garden waste. The idea really took off and its success has prompted the start of a similar scheme in Barnard Castle, beginning with Woodside.

Jill Bacon, who manages the volunteers with her husband, Martin, told the D&S Times there had been a 50pc uptake at Bowes and she was hoping for similar success in the town.

"We got a grant from Shell Better Britain for buckets for the extended scheme, but unfortunately, due to Whitehall regulations, we can't take kitchen waste at the moment," said Mrs Bacon. "But garden waste is still acceptable."

However, the plan was that when their Startforth site was redeveloped, they would be able to collect kitchen waste again. Meanwhile, they hope to gain permission to use the Shell money towards a battery for an electric vehicle.

She has already sent out 250 letters to residents of Barnard Castle, asking them to join Rotters composting club, which is free to register with. This is purely a formality to enable Rotters to legally collect the waste.

But membership does have its upside. Benefits include easy disposal of awkward and heavy garden refuse, access to cheap, locally-made compost, wood chips, topsoil and charcoal delivered to the door on collection day.

It also gives access to the conservation site to dispose of larger amounts of compostable waste, or to buy compost; help and advice about home composting and disposal of aluminium drinks cans.

Mrs Bacon said Rotters could not take away materials that might damage their equipment, such as stones and rubble.

"We decided to start in Barnard Castle because the council will not take garden waste away," said Mrs Bacon. "We will collect weekly from April to October because that is when everyone is doing their gardening.

"We can also turn felled trees into charcoal for barbecues.