householders in Here-fordshire joined a multi-million campaign to in-crease recycling this week.

For the first time, residents are being asked to sort their rubbish into different coloured bags, so recyclables can be identified and reused.

Herefordshire Council says it is delighted with the initial response, with more than half the households collected taking the time to sort waste.

The response would put the council in line to meet Government recycling targets.

The new-style collections started on Monday in Bromyard using specially adapted waste lorries. The first Ledbury collections took place on Tuesday, in areas including the Hereford Road and Golding.

Across the county, 38,000 households, half of the existing total, are now targeted for the ambitious recycling project.

Tony Lindsay-Jones, the council's lead officer for waste management, said: "This is a recycling revolution. People are following instructions and I must admit that I am very pleased with the participation rate."

The seven new collection vehicles cost £125,000 each. They are operated by the council's contractor, FOCSA, and bear the wording You Sort, We Collect, Together We Recycle.

The entire cost of the scheme, for the next 25 years, is around £125 million.

The areas involved in the kerbside collection are mainly urban and have been chosen for reasons of economic viability, in terms of ease of collection.

Starter packs have been issued to households concerned, with details of which coloured bag to leave out each week. Black bags will be collected weekly as normal.

Clear bags are used for cans, plastic bottles and aluminium foils and purple bags for paper and textiles.

The special Ros Roca vehicles have two separate compartments, with 70 per cent used for conventional black bag rubbish, and the remaining space for recyclable material.

To avoid facing financial penalties from the Government, the council must recycle 14 per cent of its recyclable waste this financial year, and 21 per cent in 2005/2006.

The recycled rubbish goes to Severn Waste Services' material reclamation facility at Rotherwas.

The neighbouring Forest of Dean District Council, which has already been operating trial green waste collections in Newent, is set to launch a similar recycling scheme by the autumn, also using compartmentalised lorries.