West Berkshire named top recycler

District beats EU target four years early

WEST Berkshire is one of 73 local authorities across the country who have already met or exceeded an EU target to recycle 50 per cent of all household waste by 2020.

The district is ranked 49th out of 320 local authorities after recycling 51.9 per cent of household waste last year, according to figures compiled by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

This represents 41,933 tonnes of waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting out of a total of 80,856 tonnes of household waste collected.

The top-ranked council in England was South Oxfordshire District Council, which recycled 67.3 per cent.

At the bottom of the table is the Isles of Scilly, which only recycled 14.1 per cent of its waste in 2015.

Out of all 320 councils in England the total household waste was 23,169,167 tonnes, of which some 10,117,005 tonnes were sent for recycling, composting or reuse, representing 43.7 per cent of the total household waste.

West Berkshire Council’s executive member for waste, Marcus Franks, said: “I am delighted that recycling rates in West Berkshire exceeded the England target for 2020 of 50 per cent.

“To achieve this four years early is something that everyone in the district should be proud of.

“We work hard to provide a good, reliable kerbside recycling collection to make it as easy as possible for our residents to recycle a range of materials at home. However, we cannot be complacent and can still do more to recycle.”