SCHOOLS in Darlington are to be involved in a new paper recycling scheme.

The initiative will be launched by Darlington Borough Council after a survey of the area's schools at the end of last year.

Twenty eight schools - 60 per cent of those questioned and including nurseries and comprehensives - agreed to take part.

Darlington Environmental Forum was told on Monday that each of them will be provided with a 1,100 litre outdoor bin, with comprehensive schools given two because of the volume of paper they generate.

Local Agenda 21 officer Rachel Wood said the scheme would begin in November, with the County Durham Environmental Trust having provided £12,000 from landfill tax credits to cover the cost.

The forum also heard of plans to improve the green areas of the Firthmoor estate in Darlington, using funding from the national Doorstep Green programme, which arose out of the Millennium Greens initiative two years ago.

Firthmoor Community Association has been awarded a grant to research the idea, with areas earmarked for possible improvement including Pilmoor Green, Holgate Moor Green and Edgemoor Green. Improvements could include tree planting.

Forum members were told that the borough council is about to start work on improving the town's South Park, following a recent National Lottery award.

The first project will be to replace the damaged railings. Once contracts have been exchanged, work is expected to start in late summer.