TWO local authorities have joined forces to recycle up to 16,000 tonnes of grass, shrubs and plants every year.

Hambleton and Richmondshire district councils have awarded a ten-year recycling contract to waste management company Yorwaste.

The joint contract will involve the recycling of between 9,000 and 16,000 tonnes of green waste, such as grass, shrubs and plants, per year.

The waste, which is collected as part of fortnightly kerbside collections in the Richmondshire and Hambleton areas, will be taken to several of Yorwaste's composting facilities.

Once the compost has matured, it will be either bagged for sale as the Yorwaste soil conditioner, Grow Green, or sent in bulk to the Apex Partnership, a national organisation that manufactures and markets organic green composts and soil improvers from recycled garden waste.

Yorwaste's recycling and external affairs manager, John Miller, said: "Hambleton and Richmondshire have the comfort of knowing we already have genuine outlets for our composted products and this is an excellent example of closed loop recycling in action."

Richmondshire district councillor Jill McMullon said: "This is the first time Richmondshire has jointly procured any waste services with another authority. This joint contract has secured long- term financial savings and the guaranteed production of a good quality product after the composting process."