SOUTH Lakeland District Council is celebrating the success of a record-breaking recycling initiative - just weeks before it is introduced across Kendal.

The kerbside recycling scheme has been rolling out to parts of the district since 2003, when just ten per cent of waste collected in South Lakeland was recycled.

Now serving up to 27,700 properties, the recycle box scheme has transformed the waste disposal system and up to 45 per cent of domestic waste is now recycled in the areas where the initiative is in place.

January saw more than 400 tonnes of paper, glass and cans collected from kerbsides across the district, the highest level since the scheme began.

SLDC bosses established the scheme in a bid to reduce the amount of waste that was transported to landfill sites and encourage people to think more carefully about what they put into their bin.

The introduction of two blue recycling boxes for glass, cans and paper and two wheelie bins for green waste and non-recyclable rubbish means that households can now sort out their waste before it is collected from their home on alternate weeks.

This kerbside recycling will take effect in Kendal, Oxenholme, Natland and Burneside from March 5 and anyone who has not received the new bins and boxes should contact 0845-050-4434. The last empty' of green wheelie bins for household waste will be on Monday, February 26.

Plastic, cardboard and clothes can also be recycled at centres located throughout Kendal, including ASDA, Morrisons and Kendal College.

See this week's Westmorland Gazette for full story.