A TRIAL to recycle green waste from County Durham households will start next month, thanks to £117,000 of funding.

The grant by the County Durham Environmental Trust (Cdent) will enable 3,000 homes in Durham to receive plastic wheeled bins and 6,000 in Newton Aycliffe to be issued with biodegradable bags for recycling garden waste as compost.

During the 12-month trial, both schemes will be monitored to determine the number of people taking part, the amount of waste collected on a weekly and seasonal basis, the effectiveness of each method and the quality of compost produced.

The results will be used to identify the best scheme for the whole of the county.

Chairman of Cdent, John Wearmouth, said: "This trial aims to reduce the amount of waste that is currently going to landfill sites by providing a solution for garden rubbish right on the doorstep."

In the past two years, Durham City Council and Sedgefield Borough Council have introduced recycling schemes for dry waste, including paper, cans and glass.

Green waste will be gathered in fortnightly kerbside collections in Durham and weekly in Sedgefield, and taken to Coxhoe landfill site.

The pilot scheme results will be analysed by students from Northumbria and Sunderland universities.