A SENIOR councillor has praised the success of a new recycling scheme in Pendle which aims to help the authority hit tight government targets.

Lancashire County Council has adopted a Municipal Waste Management Strategy -- a Greener Strategy for a Greener Future. The scheme aims to provide at least 90 per cent of households in Pendle with a segregated waste collection service by 2005 -- including garden/kitchen waste, dry recyclables and residual waste. Under a recycling credit scheme, the county council pays a flat rate of £14.60 for every property provided with a three-stream collection service.

Coun John David said: "Those of us who had reservations six months ago when the scheme was introduced were wrong, and I was one of them."