Residents will soon be able to have a lot more of their recycling collected from the kerbside.

But, grey bin collections will only be every three weeks.

A new East Devon District Council scheme will be introduced from February which will mean residents will be able to have cardboard, mix plastic and Tetre Pak recycling collected from near their homes.

The drive was first trialled by Exmouth and New Fenition residents who were asked to add cardboard and mixed plastics to their weekly recycling collections.

Those who took part used to throw away 60 per cent of their rubbish and recycled around 40 per cent. However, after trailing the new scheme they found they were able to recycle almost 60 per cent of their waste.

This in turn freed up space in their grey wheeled waste bins, meaning they only needed to be collected every three weeks.

East Devon District Council plans to roll out the scheme, being carried out by SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, in the Exmouth area in February before introducing it to the rest of the district in the summer.

An extensive public awareness campaign explaining the new service to residents will begin next month and will include a number of activities including road shows where householders will be able to talk to the authority’s team of recycling officers.

More information, including things such as collection calendars will be sent out in the New Year.

All residents will be given an additional 75 litre reusable sack for their extra recycling which they can use alongside their green recycling box and blue food caddy.

These containers will be collected from the kerbside every week, and grey wheeled waste bins will be collected every three weeks.

Residents will be able to recycle everything from yoghurt pots, plastic meat and vegetable trays to margarine and ice cream tubs, small electrical items such as irons, printed card and egg boxes.

Councillor Iain Chubb, responsible for the environment, said: “Our aim has always been to deliver a more sustainable recycling and waste collection service that benefits the environment, helps our residents do the right thing by recycling more and is economically viable. We believe that this new service provides the solution.”

“The trials have also helped us understand the practicalities of how we can meet residents’ needs and ensure the service is economically viable.”