Archived press release

One in Four Authorities Show No Improvement in Recycling

28 August 2003

Government figures just published show that 106 out of 393 local authorities (27 per cent) have not improved their recycling performance in the last year. Friends of the Earth's analysis of the figures reveals that just 20 local authorities have increased their recycling rates by more than five percentage points during the last year. The Government's national target is to recycle 25 per cent by 2005, but at the current rate of increase, this will not be reached until 2013.

• England's household recycling rate increased by just 1 per cent during the last year, from 11.2 per cent in 2000-1 to 12.4 per cent in 2001-2.

• Recycling varies widely across the regions, with a north-south divide. The south east recycles the most at 4kg per household per week, or 18 per cent. The north east recycles the least at just 1kg per household per week, or 5 per cent. London is another poor recycler, hitting just 9.3 per cent in 2001-2.

• Incineration is still hampering recycling. Metropolitan authorities incinerate 15 per cent of their waste and recycle just 8 per cent on average. Non-metropolitan authorities, which incinerate 4 per cent, recycle 17 per cent on average.

• The figures show how successful community campaigns against incinerators have been. The amount of waste incinerated has grown by 11 per cent a year on average since 1996-7, but the increase since 1998 is less than half that in the previous two years.

Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to spend at least £100 million more on recycling. This is what it will cost every household to be provided with a good quality doorstep recycling collection. In 2001-2 just over half (58 per cent) of households had a doorstep recycling service and only 24 per cent collected 4 or more materials. The majority of schemes pick up recyclable waste just once a fortnight, rather than once a week.

Friends of the Earth Waste Campaigner Anna Watson said:

"A quarter of local areas are doing no more recycling than they were last year. The Government's recycling hopes are disappearing over the horizon. England is still falling behind the rest of Europe in recycling. We will never raise our game unless more local authorities start collecting recycling from the doorstep. Every household needs a reliable, weekly collection of at least 4 materials. Only then will recycling become as second-nature as throwing out the rubbish."

Notes

Regional figures for 2001-2 (Defra waste management statistics)

Region	Household waste arisings (thousand tonnes)	Household waste recycling rate %
North East	1,313	5.2
North West	3,872	8.9
Yorkshire & the Humber	2,521	8.8
East Midlands	2,183	13.7
West Midlands	2,664	10.2
East	2,811	17.3
London	3,417	9.3
South East	4,228	17.7
South West	2,584	16.3
England total	25,592

Top ten recyclers

Daventry District Council 44 %

Lichfield District Council 33 %

Eastleigh Borough Council 29 %

Forest Heath District Council 29 %

St Edmundsbury Borough Council 29 %

Dorset County Council 27 %

Chiltern District Council 27 %

Melton Borough Council 26 %

Bath and North East Somerset Council 25 %

New Forest District Council 24 %

Bottom ten recyclers

London Borough of Tower Hamlets 3 %

Manchester City Council 3 %

Corby Borough Council 3 %

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council 2 %

Bolsover District Council 2 %

North Cornwall District Council 2 %

Cannock Chase Council 2 %

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council 2 %

Sunderland City Council 1 %

London Borough of Hackney 1 %

Top improvers in 2001-2: local authorities where the recycling rate has gone up by 6% or more

Local authority	2000-1 recycling rate %	2001-2 recycling rate %
Blaby District Council	16	22
Caradon District Council	4	11
Cherwell District Council	6	13
Chorley Borough Council	4	11
Colchester Borough Council	16	22
East Sussex County Council	11	17
London Borough of Hillingdon	13	20
Ipswich Borough Council	7	15
Kerrier District Council	7	15
Kings Lynn and West Norfolk BC	9	15
Lichfield District Council	23	33
Preston Borough Council	4	10
South Cambridgeshire District Council	10	16
South Ribble Borough Council	6	14
Wealdon District Council	14	20
Wiltshire County Council	9	18
Wyre Borough Council	11	17

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust