THE two free newspapers which hit the streets of London this month have almost doubled the amount of paper waste on the Tube.

London Underground maintenance firms Tube Lines and Metronet said the increased litter had stretched the resources of their cleaners.

A Tube Lines spokesman said that since the launch of London Lite and thelondonpaper there had been a 43 per cent increase in paper waste.

Across the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines, the amount of paper waste had increased from 3.5 tonnes of paper waste a day to 5 tonnes.

A Tube Lines spokesman said: "We have dedicated teams of litter-pickers to ensure that rubbish on all our trains and stations is removed throughout the day. Every day over 16 tonnes of rubbish is collected from the entire London Underground network.

"Analysis of volumes of litter at a number of locations on the network has shown that since the introduction of new London free newspapers there has been a 43 per cent increase in paper waste.

"We are still reviewing how best to meet the challenge of keeping the network litter-free for passengers given the increase tonnage of papers now on the system."

A Metronet spokesman said its 1,000 cleaners collected 735 tonnes of rubbish, including paper, every year.

"The new free evening newspapers have increased litter on trains and at stations," he said.

"Metronet is focusing on known litter hot-spots and has introduced better routes to best tackle litter at peak times during the day - we are continuously sharpening our processes to offer a clean Tube environment."

Associated Newspapers, the UK publisher of the Evening Standard and the free daily Metro, launched its freesheet, London Lite, on August 30.

Its international rival, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, publisher of The Sun and The Times, will publish the first edition of thelondonpaper on September 3.

Both free-sheets will have a distribution of about 400,000 and are fighting for the highly sort after market of commuting young professionals and students commuting in the capital.