NORTH Wiltshire district Council has agreed to extend kerbside recycling and a green waste collection across the area.

Subject to budgetary requirements, the kerbside collection service which recycles tins, glass, paper, textiles and foil, will be rolled out to 95 per cent of homes in a bid to reach Government targets for reducing waste.

The extended service could begin early in the summer.

Councillors also gave a new green bin scheme for collecting compostable waste the go-ahead.

This would be a voluntary scheme to be set up on a limited basis mostly on housing estates, at a proposed cost of £30 a household a year.

It is proposed there will be fortnightly collections.

The council, in partnership with Wiltshire County Council and Hills Waste which has a composting facility, is planning to acquire 6,000 240-litre bins for collection of green waste.

A pilot scheme has already been running on the Pewsham estate in Chippenham for about ten years.

Coun Sylvia Doubell, lead member for waste and recycling, said this scheme would continue to be free for residents.

However, if residents on the estate wanted to recycle cardboard a small fee might be levied.

She said a figure of around £10 had been suggested but the details had yet to be finalised.

Coun Doubell said: "There is a lot of work to be done in setting it up, but by charging we would hope to roll it out across north Wiltshire. We have got to do it in measured stages."

Kerbside recycling is already available to the majority of homes in the district, including Calne, Chippenham, Corsham, Wootton Bassett and Malmesbury.

However, if the plans go ahead, the kerbside recycling scheme will be extended to the rural area.

It will benefit 14,000 additional households and will cost £170,000.

The county council has agreed to pay most of the set-up costs and some of the on-going running costs, but the district council needs to commit £56,000 for this phase in addition to the £224,000 a year to run the existing service.

Coun Doubell said: "I am very pleased the villages have been offered kerbside recycling. They deserve to have a level playing field with the urban areas.

It is also a good deal budget wise because all the set-up costs are to be paid for by the county council. The county council disposes of the waste and it is very anxious to work with us to stop it going into landfill sites. It is in all our best interests.

"Two years ago only seven per cent of our waste in north Wiltshire was recycled. At present we are recycling about 14 per cent, and I am confident that we can meet the target of 18 per cent by March 2006. If we exceed it we will get a performance grant from the Government.

"People are really beginning to take waste management seriously. They are really doing their best to recycle more, and I am heartened by the attitude change. The whole thing is important for the world economy."

Coun Toby Sturgis was sceptical whether it would be cost-effective.

He said: "I welcome these compost bins but some people only go gardening twice a year. I think pressure should also be put on developers of new estates to use the green waste collection."