City of York Council's kerbside recycling scheme trebled in size today when an extra 40,000 homes started receiving the service.

The council is expanding its fortnightly kerbside collections to cover three-quarters of all homes in York - taking the total number of homes in the scheme to 60,000.

In order to cope with the extra collections, the council's "green team" of kerbside collectors has been expanded, with four new drivers and eight new recruits to work alongside the existing two crews.

Six new recycling collection vehicles will support the crews.

The recycling collection service is a partnership between City of York Council, waste management company Yorwaste Ltd and Yorventure, which has provided funding for the scheme from landfill tax credits - a scheme which enables landfill operators to invest some of the tax they collect on behalf of the Government in environmental projects near the sites they operate.

Elizabeth Wray, project officer with the council, said: "We've had a great response to the scheme so far and 62.5 per cent of residents with access to the services have used it.

"All the waste collected through the kerbside collections is recycled and more than 2,200 tonnes of glass, cans and paper have been recycled to date.

"The roll-out represents a major expansion of the scheme."

Updated: 10:44 Monday, June 30, 2003