PESTER power has been used to treble waste recycling in Hyndburn.

Now the Hyndburn Council project, called Waste Watching for Schools, has been highlighted by a national recycling body backed by the Government.

Pester Power is an advertising industry term to describe the strong influence children have on their parents and peers.

Children can persuade family and friends to buy particular brands of food, toys, mobile phones, clothes or accessories after being subjected to clever advertisers.

But Hyndburn schoolchildren's persuasive powers have been harnessed to benefit the environment as part of a household waste scheme.

The initiative began last year when the council encouraged pupils to obtain promises from families and friends to recycle waste.

A kerbside collection system was launched and points were awarded to schools for each recycling pledge obtained by a pupil. Individual schools could later exchange their total points for "prizes" of classroom equipment.

Those behind the scheme today revealed it has been a great success with 42 of Hyndburn's 44 schools joining.

The proportion of waste recycled in Hyndburn has leapt from six per cent to 19 per cent. Much of the borough's annual 31,000 tonnes of household waste has traditionally been buried in land fill sites, such as Whinney Hill. But more is now being re-used and diverted from such sites.

Hyndburn's top-performing school was Peel Park Primary, followed by St Mary's RC Primary, Oswaldtwistle.

Peel Park teacher Ruth Colling said: "The children got all sorts of people to make pledges. They responded really well to the scheme and were quite influential.

"If you can catch them when they're young, then I think their good habits and attitudes will hopefully stay with them all through their lives.

"And the school also benefits. It is receiving computer software in exchange for the points the children obtained for promises."

The Government-backed Waste and Resources Action Programme, or WRAP, also praised the scheme.

WRAP communications director Gareth Lloyd "There have been a number of high profile and effective communications campaigns recently, such as Hyndburn Council's Waste Watching for Schools initiative, which have delivered significant increases in recycling and participation rates."