COUNCILS across the county are joining forces to deal with Lancashire's growing rubbish mountain.

A blueprint to cut down waste and boost recycling has been drawn up in the county, incorporating ideas from a 'Citizen's Jury' of residents.

The document is a follow up to last year's 'The Future of Municipal Waste Management in Lancashire' report, which looked at the best way of dealing with waste.

Currently, all waste goes to landfill sites, but because of the rising tide of rubbish councils are being forced to look at alternatives.

All 15 Lancashire councils have been working together since November 1997 to come up with a workable and realistic strategy.

Town halls, community groups and the private sector will work together to encourage recycling and cut down on waste in Lancashire. The new strategy will cover the next 20 years, but some of the targets are expected to be under way by 2005.

Targets include having nine out of 10 Lancashire homes recycling and the planting of two million trees to improve carbon dioxide levels.

The strategy, which will be reviewed every five years, is expected to cost around £54million and it will be financed by the Government and the private sector. Any increases in council tax payments will be kept to a minimum.

Residents pay £1 per week per household for the cost of waste management and this is expected to rise to £1.90 over a number of years.

Organisers say there are no quick fix solutions or cheap options, because every year around 700,000 tons of waste is created in Lancashire and the problem has increased by eight per cent every year over the last six years.

Council bosses say they are relying on ordinary people to make the sure the scheme is a success.

County Councillor Richard Toon, the chairman of the Waste Management Strategy Steering Group, said: "The strategy is very important because it is a key issue for local government and will be continue to be for many years.

"Household waste has a big impact on the environment. People can expect changes in the way they deal with household waste, but this will be a gradual process."