THE Gazette & Herald is launching a campaign to bring kerbside recycling to Malmesbury after the town was left out of a new £938,454 scheme.

Wootton Bassett, Calne, Corsham and Chippenham have been selected to receive the fortnightly service.

The county council said it selected the towns by population density in order to reach its target of collection for 57,500 households and 7,200 tonnes of waste.

But Malmesbury, because of its size, does not qualify.

Volunteer Angie Dailey spent nine months compiling an A-Z of what refuse could be recycled in the Malmesbury area, which is about to go on the net at the end of the month.

She said she felt let down by Malmesbury's exclusion from the scheme.

"I am very disappointed and sad that Malmesbury will not be included in the kerbside recycling scheme," she said.

"It makes me feel unrewarded in terms of resources put into the area. Kerbside recycling makes people's lives easier and there is large density of population around Reeds Farm or Park Lands. It seems Malmesbury is again getting the short edge of the wedge."

District councillor for the Somerfords, Toby Sturgis, also condemned the council for a lack of action on recycling.

He said: "I feel the district have let down the people of Malmesbury by not having it.

"Having kerbside recycling in Malmesbury is very sensible. There have been many motions on recycling in council but not a lot of action."

Coun Patrick Goldstone, chairman of the town council's Planning and environment committee, also said he was disappointed that the scheme will not include Malmesbury.

While district councillor for Malmesbury, Lesley Bennett said: "It is something that the district wants to support but it was the county who selected the towns.

"We have given the money to support this scheme in the next budget in 2004. But to expand the scheme will be difficult, the district has limited resources."

Under the new scheme, householders will be given recycling boxes to collect newspaper, junk mail, magazines, glass bottles, jars, cans, textiles and aluminium foil.

The waste will then be collected fortnightly from the areas by Hill Waste, which will sort it and recycle it.

The scheme is being run in North Wiltshire in conjunction with Wiltshire County Council and the district council.

The £938,454 received to fund the scheme has come from the Government's recycling fund and is indented to last a year, after which the district council will have to find money to continue running and possibly expanding the scheme.

County council leader Peter Chalke said: "It is going to cost a lot on rates and people have got to help them selves. I have been recycling for years.

"People just have to fill a bag with the separate waste and take it to collection points locally."

A spokesman for the district council said that the district had done well out of the scheme and it was a lack of funds that prevented the scheme being expanded further.

"We will look in the next year to see how it is working and will be looking to get it to Malmesbury as soon as possible."

Gary Lawrence, editor of the Gazette & Herald, urged Malmesbury residents to voice their support for kerbside recycling in the town.

"I would encourage people to write to me, the county council and North Wiltshire District Council to argue for this valuable service," he said.

"It is ourageous Malmesbury has been snubbed and we are determined that the town will not be overlooked."

Malmesbury currently has recycling collection sites near to the Suffolk Arms and the station yard car park.