IF your carpet is disappearing beneath a mound of old travel brochures, back-to-school paperwork, magazines and home shopping catalogues, you are not alone.

According to recycling organisations in York, a paper mountain grows up in the city over the summer holidays - and now the summer has well and truly gone they are urging local people to clear out the clutter and get recycling.

Yorwaste Ltd and UPM Shotton, York's paper recycling partners, say paper traditionally builds up in people's homes throughout August and September.

They warn that if people do not recycle they can quickly get overwhelmed by the next deluge, of autumn clothing catalogues and winter sun holiday brochures.

"Residents know that newspapers can be recycled and it is therefore the most popular thing in our kerbside collections. Catalogues, office paper and junk mail can all be popped out with the recycling too," says Kristy Walton, head of the council's Waste Strategy Unit.

"Most people just tend to have a spring clean, but with all the paper that's lying around it would be easy to have an autumn clean as well.

"We've made it easier than ever to recycle in York, with kerbside collections to 83 per cent of properties and a network of over 60 public recycling centres across the city."

UPM Shotton - the UK's largest paper recycler - works in partnership with City of York Council to promote the recycling of magazines, newspapers and junk mail.

Updated: 10:08 Friday, October 15, 2004