Thousands of households have increased their recycling

Rubbish collections to 9,000 homes in Newport have been reduced to once a fortnight.

And it has led to 42% rise in the amount of recycling done by householders in the city.

The scheme was introduced in to help meet Welsh Assembly Government targets to cut down on landfill waste.

Under the pilot introduced at the start of October, rubbish collections to 9,000 homes were cut down to once a fortnight, while the recycling collections were stepped up to once a week.

More people are making the right choice about things they would normally throw away Mike Croxford, Wastesavers

Managers at Wastesavers, who are running the scheme for Newport Council, reported a record number of recycling boxes put out for collection with tonnes of paper, metals, glass, plastic bottles and textiles.

"I've been hugely impressed by the amount of recycling people on the pilot are now putting out for us to collect," said Mike Croxford, Wastesavers' General Manager.

"This is evidence that more people are making the right choice about things they would normally throw away.

"The big rise in recycling is an excellent achievement. It makes full use of our services and it shows what the people of Newport can do."

According to the waste reduction organisation Waste Watch more than 430 million tonnes of rubbish is produced in the UK a year.

The majority of this comes from industrial processes and business, with over 25 million tonnes being created in our homes.

Ron Jones, cabinet member for transport and sustainable development at Newport Council, said: "We've done all we can to help people adapt to this scheme.

"Hopefully by reducing the amount of rubbish we have to collect and throw away, we can divert more resources into the recycling effort."

Councils must recycle 40% of household waste by 2010 under Welsh Assembly Government targets.