English councils recycling more waste than ever before

Mrs Beckett said this morning she was confident of England “meeting its national recycling and composting target of 17% in 2003/04”. Her comments came as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is expected to release the audited Best Value Performance Indicators today, showing local authority service performances including recycling and composting rates during 2003/04.

”England looks certain to meet its national recycling and composting target, the first time such a target has ever been met. “
– Margaret Beckett
As well as recycling more waste, the figures are expected to show that the recycling and composting rate increased by 3 percentage points – the highest rate of increase ever recorded in England. The results highlight Lichfield as the best English council for recycling 46% of its waste.

Residents in Fylde made the biggest leap. Nearly 30% of household waste was recycled or composted, 19 percentage points more than in 2002/03, mainly as a result of increased composting.

• Click here for a full table of recycling rates for English local authorities in 2003/04.

Commenting on the results, Mrs Beckett said: “This is positive news England looks certain to meet its national recycling and composting target, the first time such a target has ever been met. While there is still a lot to work to do to raise levels of recycling even higher, this is a strong indication that the nation is adjusting to more sustainable waste practices.”

However Mrs Beckett warned that some poor performing councils will face action, as single figure recycling rates are no longer acceptable.

“Environment minister Elliot Morley will be personally engaging with each of the very poorest performers to ensure they receive the right support or, if they continue to demonstrate no commitment to improvement, to take stronger action,” she said.

”This country still languishes a long way behind many of our European neighbours. “
– Georgina Bloomfield, FoE

FoE
Responding to the figures, Friends of the Earth’s recycling campaigner Georgina Bloomfield said: “We are delighted that many local councils have improved their recycling.

“But this country still languishes a long way behind many of our European neighbours. The Government must set more ambitious recycling targets. We should be recycling at least 50% of our rubbish by 2010, an achievable target that would give us a recycling record to be proud of,” she added.

A full table of recycling rates for English councils in 2003/04 is available on the Defra website. The 2003/04 national recycling rate for England and Wales will be announced as part of the full Municipal Waste Management Survey 2003/04, which is expected to be published by Defra next month.