MORE than 15 tonnes of paper and five tonnes of glass were collected from households in Rossendale during a new "box and bag" recycling scheme.

Rossendale Council said the initiative will lead a reduction in bin collections which are currently carried out each week.

But the council are also reminding people that extra waste which accumulates between collections can be put in bin bags alongside wheelie bins.

Council leader Graham Pearson, said: "It is a very good start and shows that people want to recycle if we put the facilities in place.

"Rossendale has lagged behind in this respect but we are catching up on other parts of the country. It is a national requirement that we reduce landfill, but one that has to be carried out locally."

Rossendale's nationally set recycling target was ten per cent by 2003. Blue bins, introduced in the autumn, the boxes -- for glass and cans -- and the bags, to hold newspapers, have taken the borough past the target with 11 per cent of the waste now being recycled.

Volume reductions in the normal green bins mean that weekly collections for the 6,000 homes with boxes and bags have been replaced by collections every two weeks.

Councillor Pearson said: "We are doing well but the target is 18 per cent by 2005.

"A number of people have had queries about less frequent normal collections, but we expect most people will soon get used to the system and we will, of course, take away waste left in bags by the normal bins.

"The various recycling schemes have been a great bargain for us. They have cost a total of £250,000 but Council Tax-payers in Rossendale have only had to spend £36,000. The balance has been made up by the Lancashire Environmental Fund."