EVERY year, households in Worcestershire and Herefordshire produce nearly 400,000 tonnes of rubbish - but only a fraction of that is recycled.

Now Worcester City Council wants to almost treble that rate in the city, from nine per cent to 24 per cent by 2005.

If this challenge is to be successful, it will mean we will have to radically change the way we get rid of potato peelings, milk bottles, drinks cans and newspapers.

It might be easier to simply throw all rubbish in the bin, but our landfill sites are becoming mountainous. Including commercial and industrial waste, Herefordshire and Worcestershire throw away 450,000 tonnes a year.

Ordinary household rubbish accounts for by far the biggest proportion of that - around 386,000 tonnes.

Worcester City Council is hoping its new kerbside recycling scheme will make a dramatic difference. Instead of having to lug crates of clinking bottles to the nearest bottle bank, people will simply be able to leave them by the side of the road.

Hannah Phoenix, the city council's assistant environmental protection officer, believes it will be possible to hit those targets with the introduction of the scheme.

"All they will have to do is put it into different coloured bags and we will pick it up," she said.

"Once people get into the habit of separating their rubbish, there will not be a lot of extra work to do."

Ms Phoenix wants to raise the recycling rate from the current level at just nine per cent, to 16 per cent by April 2004 and 24 per cent by 2005.

The kerbside recycling scheme, which begins on Tuesday, June 3, will see homes being provided with different coloured sacks, which will enable waste to be easily separated.

Clear sacks will be for cans and plastics, which includes food and drinks cans, pet food cans, aerosols, cooking foil and foil trays, plastic drinks and plastic milk bottles, plastic toiletries and household cleaning bottles.

Purple sacks will be for paper and textiles, which includes newspapers, magazines, thin card, telephone directories, letters and photocopies, junk mail and envelopes, clothing, towels, sheets and pillow cases.

The benefits of recycling are that it provides raw materials for industry, uses less energy and creates less pollution.

The Duckworth Trust fully supports the aims of the council, and its current Rubbish? Sort It! campaign, which is backed by the Evening News, aims to raise awareness about problems with litter and encourage more people to recycle.

"The products we use do not come from sustainable sources," said Mark Driscoll, project manager for the trust.

"So there is only a limited amount of resources out there.

"I think the scheme will work and once it has been explained to the public how it actually works, we are hoping people will take it up and increase the amount they recycle.

"A system of having waste collected from your door every two weeks will be good."

However, not all waste will be collected. Glass should not be placed in these sacks but rather taken to bottle banks around the city.

The Rubbish? Sort It! Campaign runs until Wednesday, May 14, and anyone who wishes more information about community litter picking events can contact Mr Driscoll on 01905 459343.

City litter pickers clean up

ENVIRONMENTALLY-friendly members of the public joined in on the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust's litter picking campaign yesterday.

The St Peter's Litter Pick took place on Norton Lane in Worcester and is just one of the many events that form the Trust's Rubbish? Sort It! campaign.

The scheme, which began in April and runs until Saturday, May 17, aims to raise awareness of the problems associated with litter while trying to encourage more people to recycle.

More than a dozen recycling workshops will begin this week, designed to make children think more about waste and recycling.

Kate Norgate, the Trust's Education Officer, will run the events and children of all ages can join in the creative fun.

The aim is to produce segments of two giant caterpillars made from a range of recycled material, which will be paraded along Worcester High Street to the beat of a samba band on Saturday. May 17.

Only group bookings - which must be made well in advance - can be taken. Schools, youth groups and other community organisations should contact Kate on 01905 754555.

More details about future litter picking events can contact the trust on 01905 459343.