THE introduction of wheelie bins and recycling boxes for residents in Teesdale could save the local authority more than £90,000, it is hoped.

Members of Teesdale District Council will meet tomorrow to discuss the scheme, which was approved by councillors last year.

A massive funding boost has been received by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which has initially agreed to stump up more than £600,000 to help pay for the scheme.

Teesdale council has joined forces with other local councils and the West Durham Recycling Partnership to secure the financial support of Defra, which is the main reason the authority hopes to make the savings.

Defra has agreed to contribute funds to help provide each household with a recycling box for paper, cans, glass and plastics, and the two vehicles needed for collection, as well as alterations needed at the council's depot.

The council has yet to decide what size and style of wheelie bin to adopt and whether to provide two or more recycling boxes for households in the dale.

Council officers will recommend to members that the council adopts a standard of one 180-litre wheelie bin and two recycling boxes per property, but council will discuss the proposals further during the meeting in Barnard Castle.

Councillor Newton Wood, chairman of the authority's social and environmental policy committee, said that although savings would be made, there was still a lot of work to be done.

He said: "Whichever way you look at it, the scheme will save a lot of money, which is great, but whether it turns out to be the estimate of £91,000 remains to be seen.

"This will affect everyone in the dale so it is hugely important that we get it right, so we have to discuss this carefully and not jump the gun.

"At the moment we are purely formulating the system but hopefully we're going to have the first bins in place by November."