REFUSE collectors will today stop taking incorrectly-sorted recyclable waste from residents in Burnley.

Council bosses say that just one juice carton in a bag of cardboard could mean a whole lorry-load of Burnley's recyclable waste being sent to landfill.

From today, claret bags which contain anything other than clean cardboard and textiles will be left at the kerbside, with a sticker explaining why they have been rejected.

And it is not just the food waste, contaminated card, plastic and polystyrene found in the bags that is causing a headache for the recycling collectors.

In some instances, householders have thrown knives into the recycling, making collecting it a dangerous business.

Coun Charles Bullas, the council's executive member for the environment, said: "I'd like to thank people across the borough for their support in recycling.

"We've seen our recycling rates rise from 12 per cent in 2004 to approaching 32 per cent so far this year and Burnley is leading the way on recycling.

"Unfortunately some people, either through simply not knowing what they should put in their claret sack, or deliberately trying to get rid of general household waste among their recycling materials, are misusing the system.

"A whole lorry load of recyclable materials can be contaminated and tonnes of cardboard and textiles that could be recycled have to be dumped in a landfill site instead because they are mixed in with other rubbish.

"It also means increased costs for our waste contractor which could be passed on to the council unless we do something to solve the problem."

Burnley Council added the cardboard and textile collections to its service a year ago.

The blue collection boxes and green garden waste bins have always been left behind if they were contaminated with other waste, and the council's contract with its waste contractor Biffa states that contaminated recycling should not be collected.

It is estimated that around 10 tonnes of contaminated cardboard each week is being dumped in landfill rather than being recycled.

And the council said it was impractical to separate the clean cardboard and textiles from other waste.

Coun Bullas said: "Over the past year we've tried to tackle this issue by providing information to the public "But unfortunately the message is either not getting through to everyone or some people are simply ignoring it.

"Now we are having to take more direct action to try and solve the problem of contaminated recycling waste."