BEIJING, March 15 -- A paper recycling charity program has helped nearly 3,000 children receive medical treatment or education in the past six years.

The program, launched by the China Charity Federation (CCF) in early 2008, has collected over 40,000 tonnes of waste paper across China and sold them at 30 million yuan (4.9 mln U.S. dollars) to recyclers, according to the federation.

The money has mainly been used for helping pay for the treatment of 313 children with serious illnesses, such as congenital heart diseases (CHD), the federation said. It has also subsidized the education of 2,670 poor children.

The program is aimed at helping advocate "thrift, environmental protection and care" among the public, it said.

If half of China's waste newspaper could be reclaimed, tens of thousands of CHD children could be helped every year, said CFF official Xu Yixuan.

"A piece of waste paper is very thin, light and goes unnoticed, but it will become something thick and weighty when it is donated to the charity program," said Xu.