BURY'S bid to jump up the recycling league is set to receive another multi-million pound boost.

The borough could share in a further £135 million to set up and improve local waste management schemes.

It comes on top of new projects which have recently been launched in Bury: the latest, providing 14,000 residents with a second brown bin to collect garden waste, started only a fortnight ago.

Bury will be invited to bid next month for a chunk of £90 million, to be made available next year, and £45 million in 2005/06. The latter money comes from a new waste performance reward grant, under which councils will be given some money to set up schemes, with subsequent "reward" grants for meeting agreed performance criteria.

The borough has already shared in a £5 million scheme which covers Greater Manchester, under which 28,000 local homes will have a range of bins in which to put paper, glass, cans and textiles. Bury already operates the kerbside "green bag" project, and is trying to bring its recycling rate up to eight per cent this year.

Environment minister Elliot Morley said: "How the country deals with its waste is becoming one of the most significant social, economic and environmental issues facing society today.

"The new waste performance grant will give authorities more flexibility on how to achieve the good practice currently emerging from local waste minimisation, recycling and composting projects."