WASTE collection across Craven will be changing from the start of April with the scrapping of the unpopular 'blue bags'.

Beginning on April 1, paper and cardboard will be collected along with cans, glass and plastic in the one blue bin.

The collections of recyclables will also be increased to every other week - the same as the collection of general rubbish.

Collection days may also change for some residents, and collections will start at a slightly earlier time of 6.30am.

Craven District Council, which is responsible for the collection of waste, will be telling residents with leaflets sent to households and on the collection calender - sent out every year.

Paul Ellis Craven District Council's director of services, said: “We hope these simplified arrangements will make it easier for residents to recycle more. They are being made because the value the council receives for the sale of the recycling material it collects has fallen significantly. This prompted the council to review its current collection arrangements. We have also listened to residents who told us the blue bags are unpopular."

A consultation held on the proposals last year revealed that the vast majority who responded were not against the 'co-mingling' of paper and cans.

“The new system means the collection methodology will be simplified, and removes the need for us to distribute and collect blue bags," said Mr Ellis.

“The government has set a target that all local authorities are to achieve 50 per cent recycling by 2020, and we believe this new methodology will help us to reach this target.”

The blue bag system was introduced in 2009, at which time it was more economically beneficial to recycle materials separately.

The final blue bag collection will take place in the week beginning March 20, or March 27, depending on which collection week households are on. Blue bags will no longer be collected after March 31.

Blue bags cannot be recycled but residents are being advised they can either find another use for them, or dispose of them in the green bin- all purpose waste bin.

From April, materials that can be placed in the blue recycling bin include newspapers and magazines, paper and cardboard, glass bottles and jars, food tins, drink cans and empty aerosols, cartons, and certain types of plastic bottles including milk bottles, shampoo bottles, washing up liquid bottles, cosmetic bottles and pop or drinks bottles.

People are asked to rinse and squash materials before placing them in the bin. Bins which contain the wrong materials will not be emptied.

Properties which do not currently have a blue bin can request one free of charge, either online at cravendc.gov.uk/recycling or by calling Customer Services on 01756 700600. Residents who have limited storage can request recycling pods.