Coventry residents may soon be able to do their bit for the environment without even leaving their front rooms after Coventry Council detailed proposals for a pioneering scheme.

The Labour government has set-aside money to fund a ‘kerbside collection scheme’ and subject to approval from the members committee, it will begin before the end of this financial year.

The schemes will include the collection of bottles and jars, cans, textiles and tough plastics like shampoo bottles.

Coventry Council recycling officer Julie Bird believes the city needs the proposals to be granted.

She said:

"There are already over 200 recycling locations in the city but this will make it much easier for people to be aware of waste reduction and recycling.

"There will be a specialist vehicle making the collections and householders would be given a box with different compartments showing them where to put different categories of waste.

"This is something that we have wanted to do for a long time and our aim is to get some kind of trial scheme up and running before the end of the financial year."

The recycling department will then be at the mercy of residents participating in the scheme to decide it’s success, but Bird believes there should not be a problem.

She said:

"I think it will go well. There has been debate over whether the project should depend on the participation of the people involved or whether it should be compulsory.

"I personally think that if people were told that they could not put these items in their wheelie bin’s then they would have to use the recycling service."

However, Bird is keen to point out that awareness in the city of environmental issues is growing.

"We still have a long way to go but we are the third best Metropolitan Borough in the country when it comes to recycling," she said.