According to statistics from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, St Albans’ household waste recycling rate improved from 63% in 2019/20 to 64.2%.
This moved it up from fifth in 2019/20, when Three Rivers were awarded the trophy.
Initiatives
St Albans city and district council was praised for its achievement in achieving the highest rate by resources minister Jo Churchill, who said: “St Albans City and District Council’s series of new initiatives from textiles to battery collections are an excellent example for local authorities to follow to meet their residents’ high demands for recycling.
“Local councils are crucial in supporting our ambitions to recycle more of our waste and we are making good progress: less than 8% of waste went to landfill last year.
“But we must do more, and our new Environment Act will transform the way we deal with rubbish. We will introduce consistent recycling collections, create a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, and encourage producers to use more recyclable packaging so that we can better protect the environment for future generations.”
Trophy
St Albans city and district council was awarded the trophy by letsrecycle.com’s Steve Eminton on Friday, 11 March.
The leaf trophy is made by the Community Wood Recycling from reclaimed construction site wood.
This is the first time that St Albans has had the highest recycling rate in England although Hertfordshire also boasted the highest performing authority in the previous year: in 2019/20 Three Rivers District Council was top at 64.1%.
Councillor Anthony Rowlands, chair of the public realm committee of St Albans city and district council said: “We’re thrilled at being presented with the Letsrecycle Trophy for being top of the recycling league table.
This is testament to all the hard work our waste management team together with our contractor Veolia have put into our efforts to improve the recycling rate.
“We’ve been hoping to win this for a few years now with our performance having improved steadily for eight years in a row.
“This is testament to all the hard work our waste management team together with our contractor Veolia have put into our efforts to improve the recycling rate.
“Enormous praise is also due to our residents who clearly share our passion for recycling as they know it conserves precious resources and helps the environment by reducing the need to use landfill dumps.”
Cllr Rowlands added: “As a Council, our number one goal is tackling climate change and recycling is very much part of that agenda. We will continue to look at ways of further improving our recycling rate and hopefully win this trophy again next year.”
Contract
The council awarded Veolia a £40 million waste and recycling collection contract in 2016 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Andrew Reidy, general manager for Veolia, thanked residents for their hard work in recycling, and said he was proud of the achievement.
Mr Reidy said: “Since commencing our partnership with St Albans district council in 2016 we have jointly celebrated a 12% rise in annual recycling rates to bring the district to the top of the league table. I am proud of our team’s contribution to this landmark achievement.
“Thank you to all of the residents in St Albans for the commitment you have shown to reduce, reuse and recycle your waste, we look forward to continuing our work with you in the future.”
Subscribe for free