HOUSEHOLDERS taking part in a waste collection scheme are being urged to take care or else it will not work.

Almost 6,000 people within Thirsk and surrounding villages are piloting the project which sees them separate refuse into two bins, one for green and the other for general rubbish.

But garden waste placed in the green bin must be loose and not in plastic sacks or bags.

The green waste is taken to a composting facility operated by Yorwaste at West Tanfield, and any plastic contamination will cause problems as it will not biodegrade.

All bins are checked before they are emptied. If any plastic is found it is not emptied and the householder either has to empty the waste out of the bag and leave it until the following collection or take it to a household waste site themselves.

Deputy council leader Arthur Barker said: "All material from the green wheelie bins is being taken for composting.

"Any plastic in the heap won't biodegrade for many years and so won't compost down. If the loads are contaminated with plastic, we would have to waste a valuable amount of compostable rubbish and end up having to send it to landfill.

"Alternatively, the council could be faced with a bill for someone to go through the heap by hand removing bags - a very smelly and dirty job."

The wheelie bin trials are part of an effort to hit challenging new targets set by the government to reduce the amount of refuse being landfilled.