EAST Dorset District Council is hoping to boost its recycling efforts after the launch of the revolutionary brown bin composting scheme.

A total of 5,000 households in Verwood were issued with new waste containers including a 120-litre brown bin and seven-litre kitchen caddy to enable all their organic leftovers to be recycled.

Households are encouraged to recycle cooked and uncooked food waste by collecting it in the kitchen caddy.

The waste is then transferred to the larger brown bin which can also take light cardboard and garden refuse.

East Dorset district councillor Queenie Comfort, lead member for environmental protection, said: "This scheme will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill sites and improve the environment.

"It will also help the council hit its stringent recycling target set by the government."

The brown bin will be emptied weekly with the regular refuse sacks.

Households will also still be encouraged to use the green box and green sack schemes for other recyclable waste such as glass, cans, plastics and newspapers.

These schemes are also being extended this week to 21,000 other households.

Smaller 25-litre brown bins will be made available to those who live in flats or who do not feel the need for a large wheeled bin.

The scheme will be rolled out to another 5,000 homes in the Verwood, Ashley Heath, Three Legged Cross, St Leonard's and St Ives area in October.

Lindsay Cass, head of technical services at East Dorset, said: "Material from the brown bins will be taken for treatment to a new composting plant at Hurn where it will be transformed into a soil improver for farmers and gardeners."