A MAJOR new recycling initiative will be launched across Hambleton at the end of this month.

Kerbside collections of waste paper will come to over 19,000 homes in the entire district from April 29 after a successful pilot scheme in Thirsk.

Residents will be asked to place unwanted newspapers and magazines into reusable plastic sacks.

They will be emptied once a fortnight and the waste taken to Middleham where it will be shredded and used as high quality animal bedding.

The new collection is being introduced in the wake of the success of the Thirsk scheme, which has seen more than 82 tonnes of paper taken from 1,000 homes over the past year.

Councillors hope the scheme will help Hambleton meet challenging new Government recycling targets. Sixteen per cent of all household waste must be recycled by 2003, rising to 24 per cent by 2005, but only 8.3 per cent of waste is currently put through that process.

Environmental health spokesman Coun Arthur Barker said: "It is vital that we reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill and with the co-operation of our residents we can do that.

"This is just one of a number of measures being looked at by the authority to ensure we meet our recycling targets."

More than 7,800 homes in Northallerton, 2,800 in Thirsk and Sowerby, 1,900 in Easingwold, 2,200 in Bedale and Aiskew, 2,000 in Stokesley and 2,100 in Great Ayton will be included in the scheme, along with some villages along the route.

Collection calendars and the reusable plastic bag will be delivered to all participating households from April 22, with the first collections beginning on April 29.