A CASH prize of £100 will be given to one resident every week who puts out their newspaper recycling bag.

Town hall bosses hope the handouts will turn Bury into the "greenest" borough in the North West.

The money is being put up by Shotton Paper, the UK's largest recycling mill. It buys the newspapers, magazines and junk mail collected by the council in the green bags, and sells the paper back to the newspaper industry.

The prize draws start in November and will take place every week for a year, although residents should continue to put out their bags once a fortnight. The collection teams will make a list of which houses have recycled paper each week, and put those names into the hat to win £100.

Councillors think the draws will push Bury higher up the recycling league. Earlier this year, the authority came third in the first annual Race to Recycle awards in Greater Manchester after it recorded a 29 per cent increase in the amount of paper it recycled.

Councillor Stella Smith, executive member for environment and transport, said: "This is an opportunity for local people to do their bit for the environment with the added chance of £100 for their efforts.

"People in this area are already dedicated to recycling more out of waste, but it's always helpful to offer a little extra incentive."

OFFICIALS urge residents to fold over their recycling bags to keep out the winter weather.

They say that wet paper cannot be recycled, which means the council cannot sell it on and must bury it in landfill sites with ordinary waste.

They also ask people to keep the bags away from where passers-by might trip over them.