A PETITION signed by more than 2,000 Monmouthshire residents will be handed to councillors tday in a bid to save the county's black box recycling scheme.

At a Monmouthshire cabinet meeting, councillors will discuss whether to get rid of the old system in favour of a new co-mingled recycling collection scheme which would see residents asked to fill up two different sacks - one with paper and light cardboard and the other with cans, bottles, plastics and other recyclables with the items being sorted at a central recycling facility in Cardiff.

The council had originally proposed a one sack system which would see all recyclable materials put into one bag for collection and taken to Cardiff.

But a number of residents still say they would prefer the old black box system to be kept in place.

This sees all items placed into one box before they are then sorted into different compartments on the rubbish trucks.

Janet Rawlings, of Chepstow Friends of the Earth which was one of the three Monmouthshire Friends of the Earth groups to set up the campaign said: "Although a two-sack system is slightly better than the original one sack system scheme, it still means that by mixing all the different items together, they will not retain their original value.

"The amount of signatures collected shows there is a lot of people who feel the same about this."

Other residents agreed. Anna Batten, 27, of Victoria Street, Abergavenny, said: "Everyone knows how the system of the black box works and it keeps the work local. I prefer it over either the one sack or two sack system."

Mavis Jenkins, 79, of Thornwell Road, Chepstow, said: "The black box system is much healthier."

But by introducing the twin sack scheme the council state more than £160,000 per year would be saved.

If approved the new system will be introduced on November 30 for the north of the county and on January 23 next year for the south of the county.