Bradford Council is bracing itself for the introduction of a new waste-cutting scheme which could lead to multi-million-pound fines in a year's time.

And that would increase council tax, the public is warned.

The Government's controversial Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) will be introduced tomorrow.

It is aimed at reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfill sites by slapping financial penalties on local authorities which dump too much of it.

The Government has introduced the LATS scheme to help councils meet new European waste-cutting targets.

Under the scheme, local authorities are set limits on the amount of biodegradable waste - like paper and garden refuse - they can dump in landfill sites.

If they dump more than they should in a given year they are fined; if they dump less they can "sell" their extra allowance to other authorities or "bank" it for future use.

The Government has already told Bradford it must recycle more than a quarter of all its waste in the financial year starting tomorrow, or face the tough fines.

Last year, Bradford Council believed it might face having to pay a £10 million bill for extra landfill sites over the next two years if it failed to cut its waste.

But the Council is now banking on its £4.1 million investment in waste recycling announced in last month's budget to help it meet the Government's targets.

That money will be used to roll out more roadside recycling projects across the district - trials are currently under way in parts of Keighley and the Worth Valley.

Some will also be used to look at better ways of recovering organic waste which would usually be dumped. One of the schemes expected to be looked at is a heat treatment plant which sanitises the rubbish and makes it easier to sort and recover.

Meanwhile, Bradford residents are being urged to recycle all the paper, glass and metals they can to make sure the Council is not fined - because the cost of that will be added to future council tax bills.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, the Council's executive member for the environment, said: "LATS is an extremely punitive weapon that Government is using in order to make the Council achieve targets and we have to invest.

"We are hopeful that by investing this money we will not have to pay out the necessary fines next year. I am told by Council officers that, with the analysis they have done, it should work.

"But the only way it will work is if the public take part in it. We have invested to save and the public must do their bit. Everyone is pulling out the stops to make this work."