RESIDENTIAL developments on Teesside could have underground recycling facilities in their grounds.

Stockton Borough Council is planning to excavate land near three blocks of flats to give residents a chance to recycle their waste.

The scheme would provide underground storage for 1,100-litre wheeled containers.

The proposed sites would be at Kennedy Gardens, in Billingham, and at Nolan House and Hume House, in Stockton.

The centres have been proposed in response to legislation that requires all households to have access to recycling facilities by 2010.

The proposals, likely to be approved by councillors at a meeting on Wednesday, would result in underground pits lined with steel reinforced concrete. The bins would be on mechanical platforms that could be raised to allow them to be emptied.

At all three sites, the units would be at grassed areas and open space.