Council goes green as old goods brought in.

A WHITE mountain of unwanted household appliances is being whittled down to size to help make Northumberland one of the greenest counties.

Hundreds of discarded electrical goods from freezers, fridges and cookers to toasters and hair driers are being collected and recycled.

Last year 1,600 tonnes of appliances were dealt with by Haltwhistle-based Cooler Recycling Solutions (CRS), helping Northumberland to a waste recycling rate of almost 39%.

The company is working for the county council and its waste management partner SITA UK, which is involved in a multi-million pound contract aimed at ensuring only 8% of the county's household rubbish goes to landfill by 2012.

Richard Hinchliffe, SITA UK's manager in charge of the Northumberland PFI contract, said: "As consumers we use and throw away many and electronic products that need to be disposed of carefully.

"Cooler Recycling is an excellent partner for us for sorting and selling the many components that make up the discarded machinery.

"Being on the doorstep and having a positive environmental impact in the community is a bonus.'' CRS managing director Courtney Clift said: "We believe we can offer an unbeatable package to our customers.''