HUNDREDS of Newport residents took advantage of a free "green" offer from the city council.

Queues of people built up at the authority's Telford depot which had more than 1,500 home composters to give away.

The council is determined to reduce the food waste which makes up 39 per cent of the rubbish thrown in the city's bins.

From plate scrapings to peelings, more than 14,000 tonnes of waste food is buried in landfill every year in Newport.

If used correctly, every composter allocated on the day could reduce household waste by 220 kilograms per year.

It is hoped that the event will result in a reduction of around 330 tonnes of food waste - the equivalent of 330 small cars in weight.

Councillor Ray Truman, cabinet member for community safety and sustainability said: "Food waste is set to become the central focus of our recycling campaign.

"The more we recycle, the less we bury in landfill.

"Quite simply, this is the only way for our city to avoid paying huge fines for burying too much of our waste in the ground".