THE recycling drive is being stepped up in Colne with the launch of street litter bins split into four sections.

The new bins have a compartments for general waste, cans, plastic bottles and paper.

Bosses said if successful they could be rolled out across the borough.

Only a handful of councils in Britain have introduced the bins, but they are a common sight on the streets of Spain where they have been hailed a huge success.

Councillors are confident that Colne people will embrace the new system as part of the drive to increase recycling in the borough.Pendle Council has set a target of recycling 36 per cent of its waste during the coming year.

Coun Howard Thomas, who first suggested the idea to Pendle Council's Colne and District Committee a year ago, said: "I'm delighted to see these bins in Colne and I hope we can look to replacing all the bins in Pendle with them.

"They have only been in a couple of days so we can't say how well they have been used yet, but I've just returned from holiday in Spain and they are used everywhere there. Nobody has any problems with it.

"There's no reason why there would be any difficulty here, and I think a lot of people will welcome the chance to recycle more.

"The doorstep recycling collections have been a massive success, but there's so much more we can do to save resources and I want to explore that."

Four bins have been put in place in Colne. One each outside the library, health centre, market and precinct, and they will be emptied regularly by the council's cleansing staff.

They cost several thousands pounds and were paid for with cash from the Colne Committee's budget.

Brian Jackson, of Friends of the Earth, said: "This is a big step forward for improving recycling. There is still a lot of scope to do more than just the doorstep collections, and I'm glad that is being recognised."