The report shows that recycling of household waste has doubled in the last five years and almost every council has increased the level of recycling. See also Audit report.
Responding to the report, Cllr Kay Twitchen, chair of the Local Government Association's waste and environmental management executive said: “I congratulate the many councils across the country who have improved their recycling rates and have developed such a variety of imaginative schemes.” And she noted that most civic amenity sites now focus on sorting and recycling rather than rubbish dumping.
But, Cllr Twitchen hit out at the government over a lack of funding to help pay for greater recycling.
“We have a long way to go to meet the government's targets and precious few resources to achieve them with. Local authorities have yet to see a penny of the 140 million earmarked for recycling in the last comprehensive spending review and we will continue to press ministers to pass that much needed funding on to councils.”
The LGA is currently lobbying for the government to change the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme so that some of “the vast amount of money paid by local councils in landfill tax” can be returned to them to promote recycling.
The Audit Commission report said that although household recycling has doubled in five years, there is considerable variation in recycling rates between councils.
The Commission commented: “Some councils have a very long way to go if they are to reach the challenging performance standards set by the government. For example, Stockport recycled more than 30 times the proportion of household waste achieved by Manchester, its neighbour; in the East Midlands, Daventry recycled more than 25 times the proportion of Corby.”
The full report can be seen as a PDF file at
Audit Commission . Alternatively, copies are available from: Audit Commission Publications, Bookpoint Ltd,39 Milton Park, Abingdon, OX14 4TD, Freephone: 0800 502030.
Register for free to comment