THERE was an excellent response to Redditch Council's new house-to-house recycling collection scheme last week, according to the man running it.

Recycling project officer Andy Walker said he was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who put their recyclables out for collection on the scheme's first day, bank holiday Monday.

And he is sure the 55 per cent response rate from 2,100 householders in the pilot areas is bound to increase.

The council has chosen a cross section of different housing types to test the project.

Each month another 1,000 homes will be added to the collection round, eventually allowing all residents to separate out their glass, tin, paper and textiles for collection and recycling.

The project is being supported by Government funding and aims to increase the recycling rate in Redditch from seven per cent to 18 per cent in 2006.