THE majority of sheltered housing schemes across the borough are enthusiastically participating in a new newspaper recycling service.

Some 27 out of 33 across the borough have signed up to the service, which is a partnership between Swindon Council and the charity Leaves who are providing a collection service that aims to reach areas of that the authority's own house-to-house recycling service presently cannot reach.

Each housing scheme receives a fortnightly collection and more than a tonne of paper is already being diverted away from landfill into the recycling process every fortnight. Leaves is hoping to build on this success and eventually involve all the borough's sheltered housing schemes and increase participation among individual residents.

Salzgitter Court in West Swindon is one sheltered housing scheme that has embraced the service. The warden has ordered several large collection boxes for use by individual residents and collecting the paper separately is now part of the normal waste disposal routine.