Plans are under way to encourage residents to put out their peelings alongside their rubbish and recyclables.

Members of Castle Point Council's environmental health committee has agreed a six month kerbside collection trial for kitchen and garden waste.

And the council's strategy for the future could include abandoning the weekly refuse collection service and making it fortnightly.

In an effort to cut down on landfill and meet the Government's targets for recycling, residents will be asked to place garden waste alongside their rubbish. The waste will then be taken to the Cleanaway site in Pitsea for large scale composting.

Following the publishing of a strategy plan by waste consultants Ekologika, it was suggested future waste management should include moving the weekly refuse collection to once a fortnight.

Recylable goods, such as paper, textiles, tins and plastic will then be collected each week along with organic waste.

Alan Longford, health director said: "The kerbside separation of recyclables from homes has proven to be the most productive way of achieving recycling rates.

"Although more expensive to operate, if local authorities are to take waste reduction and recycling seriously it is the best way forward due to the higher volumes of recyclate collected."

He explained how the council presently recycled around 1,800 tonnes of newspapers and around 60 tonnes of textiles each year from its once a fortnight kerbside collections.

He said: "However, one of the largest fractions of waste in the average dustbin is garden waste accounting for approximately 20 per cent of domestic waste."

Home composting has been encouraged by the council over the past few years, with 7,000 subsidised compost bins sold to residents. Potentially, 5,000 tonnes of garden waste is available for kerbside collection each year in Castle Point.

Mr Longford said the main problem of recycling for councils was funding. Goods could only be recycled if there was a viable market and the council needed to find a cost-effective way of collecting and recycling organic waste.

At present Castle Point Council has a recycling rate of eight per cent, but must increase this to 63 per cent by 2007 to meet Government targets.

Members agreed to the six month trial following a study of cost implications.

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