Best recycling rate in city region
HALTON boasted the highest recycling rate for local authority collected waste across the six districts of the Liverpool City Region (LCR) last year.
The Joint Waste Local Plan for Merseyside and Halton for 2017/18 has been published.
The headline figures for Halton include that the borough’s recycling rate for local authority collected waste stood at 43.6% – the highest in the six LCR areas.
A report produced for councillors on Halton’s environment and urban renewal policy and performance board said the figure fluctuates from year-toyear, but the borough’s most recent figure is an increase on the previous 12 months.
The residual collected waste – that which is not recycled – in the borough stood at 32,368 tonnes, 9% lower than the year before and the lowest since the plan started in 2013.
The report said: “A decline usually indicates a reduction in waste generation and increased recycling.”
There was a 15% drop in fly tipping incidents with 795 ● reported last year – down from 932 in 2016/17, but up from the 429 in 2013/14.
The borough’s recycling centres have levels above the Merseyside average of 71%, with the Johnsons Lane facility in Widnes boasting one of 73% and the Picow Farm site in Runcorn’s being 72%.
In terms of how residual waste was disposed of, the council sent fewer than 20% – 6,300 tonnes – to landfill, with 80% or 25,487 tonnes being incinerated with energy recovery.
The report said a target of having no more than 10% of waste being sent to landfill by 2020 is ‘considered achievable’.
The document added: “The Waste Local Plan guides the development of the necessary waste management infrastructure in relation to land use planning for Merseyside and Halton.
“The implementation of the Waste Local Plan indirectly supports many of the policy objectives in the Core Strategy, Corporate Plan and Sustainable Community Strategy.”
Councillors were due to be updated on the issue at a meeting on Wednesday, September 18, after the Weekly News had gone to press.