Recycled waste ends up in incinerators ‘to reduce costs’

RECYCLING that has been carefully separated by families is increasingly being sent to incinerators as cashstrapped councils try to save money.

Recycling rates have fallen in half of local authorities, analysis found, despite a government drive to reduce the amount sent to landfill. The analysis found that recycling rates have fallen in 173 out of 350 authorities since 2012.

MPS last night urged ministers to reverse £400 million worth of cuts to waste management services since 2011.

It follows a huge shift toward incineration, with more than 40 councils now burning half of all plastic, paper and household rubbish collected.

Of those, 10 councils, including Birmingham, Portsmouth and Brighton, are now incinerating more than 67per cent of their waste, while Westminster and Lewisham burn 82per cent. Derby, Hartlepool and Sunderland have seen their recycling rates fall by more than 10per cent in the last five years.

Five out of nine English regions have cut the amount of household waste sent to recycling centres, according to BBC analysis, with councils in the North East averaging declines of 2per cent.

Figures provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show that real-term spending on recycling services in England has fallen every year since 2013.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Clive Betts, the chairman of the Commons local government committee, called for intervention.

“Both Michael Gove and Sajid Javid should be making the case for more funding, because otherwise councils will not meet the targets,” he added.