Stratford and South Northants districts in top 10 for recycling

For the fourth successive year, Stratford-on-Avon District Council has maintained its position as one of the best performing councils in England for household recycling and composting.

Last year (2016/17) saw an increase in the district’s household recycling rate from 60.4 to 61.3 per cent – four of the top ten local authorities saw a reduction.

While South Northamptonshire Council also saw an increase, 2.4 per cent, to reach eighth spot in the list, 10 percentage points ahead of any other authority in the county.

Cllr Mike Brain, community and technical services portfolio holder at Stratford council, said: “Again, thanks to our residents and their commitment and support for recycling we are still in the top 10.

“This year has seen the start of our ‘Recycle Right’ social media campaign to help residents identify what items can and cannot be recycled.

“The service we provide is designed to make recycling easy; however, 53 per cent of the contents of an average refuse bin in the district can be recycled.

“The daily tweets and Facebook posts for ‘Recycle Right’ will hopefully help with daily reminders and help us improve our performance this year.”

It is estimated that up to 80 per cent of household waste can be recycled.

South Northants council has run a number of campaigns to raise awareness of the issues that hold recycling figures back.

In March 2016 a food waste campaign resulted in a 15 per cent increase in food waste recycling.

Blue bin recycling also rose by 1.4 per cent and it was a record year for garden waste collections.

Overall black bin waste fell by 3 per cent in 2016/17, equal to 470 tonnes.

Portfolio holder for environmental services Cllr Dermot Bambridge said: “We provide the bins and the collection services, but we cannot make people recycle.

“On behalf of the council I would like to thank every household for doing their bit.

“Not only does a high recycling rate mean we can run a cost-effective service, recycling delivers long-term health and environmental benefits.

“East Riding of Yorkshire Council is the best in the country with a recycling rate just four per cent better than ours.

“It would only take a small amount more from each household to put us at the top of the table.”

More information is available at www.southnorthants.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling or call 01327 322344.