Details have emerged today of a trial of weekly food-waste collections for Oxford householders.

The year-long pilot is expected to begin on April 1 and will see about 800 tonnes of food scraps diverted from landfill.

The trial would involve 6,250 households in Oxford and feature two different methods of waste collection to find the most suitable.

Half of the participants will be given seven-litre kitchen caddies and a 21-litre kerbside container while the other half will use just a 21-litre kerbside container.

Residents using the kitchen caddies will be given 10 weeks' worth of special bin liners and those with only a kerbside container will receive a year's worth of liners.

Replacement liners will be available to purchase, but participants will also be able to wrap their food waste in newspaper.

Households are expected to be consulted before and during the pilot, which is expected to lead to a city-wide roll out of the scheme in April, 2009.

The trial is expected to cost about £198,000, with £65,000 coming from the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership.

Oxford City Council will decide tonight whether to approve funding.