HYNDBURN is on course to hit its recycling target.

Figures just released in the Waste Watching for Schools campaign, run in conjunction with the Observer, show that a total of 1,391 tonnes of waste were sent for recycling during the summer quarter.

A huge 495 tonnes of recyclable waste were received at the collection centre in June. The figure for July was 500 tonnes, which meant participating schools received the 5,000- point bonus that month - for the second time.

In August, the total dipped to 396 tonnes, mainly due to holidays and the fact that no aluminium cans were included in the weigh-in during the month.

However, with a total of 1,391 tonnes for the three months, averaging 463 per month, the borough is well on track for achieving its target of recycling 18 per cent of its domestic waste by 2004.

About 31,500 households in Hyndburn can take part in the borough's kerbside recycling scheme. Around 14,800 are actually sorting their recycling waste prior to collection.

Just over 12,000 households have now signed pledges in the Waste Watching for Schools campaign - and of these, more than 9,000 are actively pre-sorting their waste.

Campaign co-ordinator Neil Maver said: "These are tremendous figures. They not only show that nearly half of all eligible homes in the borough have signed up, but that the ones actively participating account for more than 60 per cent of the total recycled waste.

"This means that the Waste Watching for Schools campaign is making a very positive contribution tow-ards helping Hyndburn achieve its recycling targets for this year.''

In June, participating schools shared 10,800 points awarded for the 495 tonnes of recyclable waste received from pledged households.

The figure for August was 5,880 points, which means schools have now been able to share in a total of 51,483 points since the start of the campaign. Points are distributed in proportion to the numbers of pledges achieved by their pupils and the pupil ratio for each school.

The best performing schools in June were St Mary's, Oswaldtwistle, and The Hollins Technology College. These schools were also the highest performing for the year so far, with 3,217 and 1,069 points respectively. But St Mary's was pipped at the post in July by Peel Park, taking it into the lead for the year with a total of 4,268 points.

Peel Park stayed in front in August, bringing its total to 5,193 points for the year.

In the high school section The Hollins was the winner again in July and August.