Containers will be dropped off at 7,500 homes in the Ashton, Ribbleton, Frenchwood and Fishwick areas of Preston in advance of the scheme being rolled out in May.

And council staff will be visiting homes to give out information about the scheme.

Already, 7,500 residents in Preston's inner areas recycle their weekly food waste. More than 850 tonnes have been recycled since 2005.

The £150,000 expansion of the service will see raw, cooked, left over, unwanted and out-of-date food recycled and turned into compost which can be used locally.

Coun Keith Sedgewick, cabinet member for environment and neighbourhood services, said: "By extending weekly food waste collections, we are responding to what local people have been asking us for.

"People want to recycle more but they also want their waste, particularly rotting food waste, to be collected weekly.

"Preston was one of the first places in the country to offer weekly food waste collections and the scheme has been so successful that we are delighted to be able to extend to a further 7,500 homes in Preston.

"Our aim is that, within the next few years, all Preston homes will be able to have weekly food recycling collections."

The scheme works by providing people with a special green collection container.

This is then lined with a biodegradable corn starch bag which people use to put their waste food in.

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