HUNDREDS of people living in Stockton and Thornaby are being urged to recycle their old newspapers with the delivery of blue bags.

Stockton Borough Council is expanding its blue bag recycling scheme for waste paper, a joint programme with partners Roseberry Recycling and Cheshire Recycling, with the first collection day on Tuesday.

The first new bags were sent out to households two weeks ago, with a collection calendar.

Deliveries are continuing to add a further 22,000 homes to the 45,000 already included in the scheme.

Once the deliveries are complete, the scheme, which has seen Stockton become one of the region's leading authorities for waste paper recycling, will embrace almost 90 per cent of the borough's homes.

Councillor Geoff Field, the council's cabinet member for environment, said: "We are determined to give as many residents as possible the opportunity to do their bit for the environment by recycling their waste paper.

"This links in with our concerted drive for a cleaner, greener borough and is one of many schemes, including our Care For Your Area campaign and Local Agenda 21 initiatives.

"The waste paper recycling scheme has been very popular and its continued success and expansion is a major step in the right direction towards a better quality of life for our residents, both now and in the future."

For further information about the blue bag scheme contact (01642) 391194.