WHEELIE bins are set to be introduced across the Harrogate district in the new year as council chiefs consider revamping their recycling system.

The scheme would see the bins installed at every home in the district, with cardboard and plastic bottle recycling also being brought in alongside alternate weekly collections of waste and recycled materials.

Coun Michael Harrison, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for the environment, said: “We are being proactive, introducing a simple-to-understand service which will be more efficient, saving the taxpayer money, improving the percentage we recycle and sending less waste to landfill.

“We are bottom of the pile in the country at the moment, but once this is fully rolled out, we expect recycling to be closer to 50 per cent, rather than 30 per cent as we are now.”

The scheme has already been backed by the authority’s cabinet and is now also being supported by its overview and scrutiny committee.