The Lancashire local authority, which is Conservative-controlled, was given a “good” two star rating for its environmental services, with “promising” prospects for improvement.
” Our recycling targets are much higher than in other parts of the country “
– Peter McGeorge, Ribble Valley
The report identified strong progress on recycling and composting rates, which have risen from 18% to 21% in 2005/06.
Ribble Valley was also praised for responding to local concerns about waste management through a range of consultations.
Peter McGeorge, recycling officer for Ribble Valley Council, said: “Our recycling targets are much higher than in other parts of the country and we have held a lot of consultations to find out what people want from their recycling service. We have given out home compost units and we enjoy very high participation rates.”
Despite these positives, the Audit Commission criticised the council’s slow progress on a new, three-stream waste collection service.
Mr McGeorge explained: “We are introducing a new three-stream recycling system for compost, dry recyclables and residual waste in July. It is taking time because we are doing things properly, not rushing them, and making sure they are sustainable.
“We are currently building a waste transfer station that will allow our vehicles to deposit their waste locally rather than go outside the borough – so our recycling rate should rise significantly over the next year.
“Even though the rates for this year were lower than expected, we have the potential to become one of the best performing local authorities.
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The Audit Commission’s report also criticised the council’s emphasis on recycling rather than waste reduction, leading to household waste arisings.
Mr McGeorge said: “That was just a blip, and waste has actually gone down since then. We have now adopted an Education and Waste Awareness strategy drawn up by the University of Central Lancashire and will soon be able to give waste minimisation our full attention.”
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