A grant of £502,000 means Malvern Hills District Council can replace its ageing dustcarts with a fleet of new models tailored for recycling.

Worcestershire County Council is giving the money to the district as part of an initiative to ensure householders can recycle rubbish without leaving their homes.

If MHDC approves the plans, residents will be asked to separate rubbish into paper and textiles, plastics and cans and other waste, putting each in different coloured bags.

Bin men will alternate between collecting paper and textiles one week, plastics and cans the next. Normal waste will still be collected weekly.

Paul Sobczyk, head of client services at the council, said the new collections should start in about a year's time. An education campaign stressing the importance of recycling and detailing the changes will be launched before then, with a project officer appointed to deal with the task.

The county council has given the money to MHDC as part of a new strategy aimed at reducing landfill. This was prompted by the refusal of planning permission for an incinerator at Kidderminster.

Last December, MHDC announced it was to receive £452,000 from DEFRA to set up a pilot scheme for urban kerbside collection of recyclable materials. However, in light of the additional county council grant, Mr Sobczyk is confident DEFRA will allow the money to be used specifically for collecting glass and possibly some types of electrical equipment.

Around 20 "micro-sites" with recycling facilities are also being created with the help of another DEFRA grant for £165,000.

MHDC predicts the new measures will allow it to exceed Government recycling targets to recycle at least 18 per cent of the district's annual waste by 2005/6. If the changes go ahead, the council predicts 24 per cent will be recycled by 2004/5.

Chief executive Chris Bocock said he was putting the district forward for involvement in pilot projects for new treatments of waste in future.