A new trial set to make it easier to recycle for 1,500 households will start on Monday.

Richmond Council announced a new scheme for collecting recycling from flats in Hampton and Richmond - and if successful it will be rolled out across the borough.

Under the trial residents who previously had to sort their recycling into up to seven individual bins - for paper, cardboard, green glass, clear glass, plastic bottles, brown glass and cans - will now have just two.

Councillor Virginia Morris, Richmond Council cabinet member for environment, said: “Richmond residents are already among the most diligent recyclers in London but we’re determined to bring about a step change in how much waste is steered away from expensive landfill sites.

“We want to be recognised as number one for recycling in the capital.

“This trial is the next step in our campaign, we want to see what effect this simplification will have for recycling from flats.

“Residents in this trial should find it much quicker, and if the test run increases the volume of waste collected, it will be another major step in the right direction.

“The council is taxed on landfill waste so every ton we steer way from such sites represents a financial saving, money we can use locally instead of paying to the Government.”

The six-week trial will see recycling collected in two new categories - mixed fibre, which includes paper, card and drink cartons, and mixed containers, which includes tins, cans, glass and plastic bottles.

The announcement comes less than a month after the council’s executive agreed a new recycling scheme which will start on November 8 and allow yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and other containers that previously had to be thrown in the rubbish to be recycled.

Once the trial is complete the council will use the information collated to bid to the London waste and Recycling Board to extend the scheme.

The borough’s recycling rate is currently 43 per cent. It is thought there would be a 16 per cent increase in the rate, or a 1,250 ton jump, if the scheme is rolled out across Richmond. The average recycling rate for London is 29.2 per cent.