A scheme to encourage thousands of Oxford householders to recycle garden waste is to expand.

In March, 8,000 homes in Headington, Marston and Wolvercote, were given special sacks, emptied fortnightly, for their garden waste and cardboard.

A further 5,000 households in parts of Risinghurst, Sandhills, Botley, Cowley and central Oxford are set to join the year-long city council pilot scheme next month.

Mary Clarkson, executive member for the environment, said the council was committed to encouraging recycling in Oxford and hitting the Government targets of 19 per cent for 2005/06.

She said: "This new service should help us raise our recycling rate and cut the amount we have to deposit in landfill sites. I hope that the residents involved will support it and that we will be able to continue to extend it to additional areas of the city."

Residents will be consulted to measure the success of the pilot.

Other councils across the county are also planning to run their own recycling schemes.

In south Oxfordshire, the district council will be running a £100,000 six-month trial to compost green waste, rather than dumping it in landfill sites.

Residents will be given bio- degradable sacks which will be collected separately by Grundon, the council's waste contractor, to be taken to composting sites.

West Oxfordshire District Council collects green waste by appointment, but most of it goes to landfill. It hopes to launch a pilot composting scheme soon.

The Vale of White Horse District Council runs a green sack collection scheme and is preparing to start composting, rather than dumping, later this year. Cherwell District Council already sends all its green waste for composting.

For more details about the Oxford scheme call 0800 7831957.