A "REVOLUTION in rubbish" is to finally get under way in parts of Wyre Forest in seven weeks.

Weekly kerbside recycling collections and a fortnightly wheelie bin collection service will be introduced in tandem at 9,000 households in parts of Kidderminster, Stourport, Bewdley and surrounding villages on September 8.

The selected "first phase" areas are parts of Aggborough, Bewdley Hill, Birmingham Road, Comberton, Cookley and Wolverley North, all Kidderminster; Lickhill and Walshes, Stourport; Hales Park, Bewdley; and the villages of Chaddesley, Stone and Rushock.

All properties involved will receive their pair of green and black boxes for recycling glass, paper, plastics, cans and textiles in mid-August. They will also receive an information pack detailing exactly what they need to do and when collections will take place.

A series of roadshows and workshops will also be held in the run-up to the launch date.

Another 9,500 homes will come on line in November, with a further 20,000 homes seeing the scheme introduced in January and February next year.

By then the number of households involved in the "green" scheme will represent 88 per cent of the district. Rural properties, those which are difficult to reach and multiple-occupation premises, including blocks of flats, will be brought into the scheme later next year.

The aim of the initiative is to drastically increase the district's poor recycling rate and so reduce the amount of household rubbish ending up in landfill sites, in line with Government targets.

Councillor Keith Robertson, the district's portfolio holder for commercial services, said: "We can only make this scheme work with the support and contribution of all of us in changing the way that we dispose of our waste. We can really improve the environment for future generations by working together."

Large families with more than six people, families with children under three who use nappies and households with people with a medical condition involving the disposal of non-hazardous medical waste can apply for extra help, subject to an assessment of their needs.

Families who regularly overfill their recycling boxes will also be given extra help.

A "pull-out" service will also be available for elderly and disabled households who demonstrate they would struggle to carry their recycling boxes to the kerbside for collection each week.

The collected recycling will initially be stored at Hoobrook industrial estate in Kidderminster before going on to recycling companies for reuse.

Anyone who has a query about the service can contact the council's customer services team on 01562 732928.