THE issue of recycling - and how to encourage people to think before they bin their rubbish - is set to be a high priority for Wyre Forest District Council in the year ahead.

The proportion of rubbish recycled in the district stands at just 5.58 per cent. By 2004 the minimum target set by the Government is 10 per cent, rising to 30 per cent by 2011 and 50 per cent by 2015.

The council plans to introduce kerbside recycling in 84 per cent of homes in the coming financial year, aided by government funding totalling £660,000.

The first phase will not include multi-occupancy homes - including blocks of flats - and rural areas.

However, even on that basis the council aims to get the recycling rate up to 18 per cent in just a year.

From 2005 the council hopes to establish the scheme at every home, including rural areas, flats and difficult-to-reach properties, while also extending the range of materials it can accept for recycling to include food and garden waste.

A trial of the first phase of the scheme in Batham Road, Kidderminster, was a great success, with 35 properties hitting an average recycling rate of 35 per cent over five weeks.

In advance of Wyre Forest's new scheme, which will start on some bin rounds in April, the council has pledged to enforce its current policies on rubbish which include no side waste, closed bin lids and a maximum of 10 per cent garden waste.

Councillors visited Lichfield, which has a current recycling rate of 42 per cent, before drawing up the current scheme.