Council falling further down the recycling ranks

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The latest figures show just 27% of our household waste is recycled, down from 30% in 2016/17.

The level - 17% below the national average and 21% worse than neighbouring Calderdale - has seen Kirklees become the 25th worst borough at recycling out of about 350 across the country.

Council chiefs have said the national figures don’t reflect the true reality of their recycling efforts.

Most waste in Kirklees is burnt in the incinerator at Hillhouse, which turns rubbish into electricity.

The council said it also recycled waste from street cleansing and the incinerator ash, which wasn’t reflected in the national figures.

But Kirklees Green party leader, Clr Andrew Cooper, said it was debatable if that was any better than burying it as it was polluting the atmosphere.

Speaking from the COP24 UN climate change summit in Poland, he said: “We need to look at whether we can collaborate with another council to improve our recycling.

“Calderdale is certainly one authority that is doing it a lot better.

“But this is the crazy thing - there’s no common method of recycling across the different councils.

“It doesn’t make sense. Some councils have got a lot more money than others and are able to spend more on it.

“We have to make a stronger case to national government and embarrass them on the very poor funding we get compared to the leafy shires.

“But we’ve also got to look at how much waste we create.

“The incinerator relies on waste being created when really we want to be reducing the amount of rubbish in society as a whole.

“Burying it in the ground or burning it into the air, neither is a positive thing.

“If we are going to burn it we need to be making use of the heat that’s created. “I know there are plans to do that. “We also need our recycling to happen locally rather than being shipped half way around the world.

“If we use local producers and local recyclers, we’ll have less to recycle.”

Clr Cooper said cut backs on awareness campaigns on what can and can’t be recycled were also hurting poorer authorities such as Kirklees.

Kirklees Council was said to have one of the cheapest waste and recycling contracts in the country, which has saved taxpayers millions.

The contract with French owned Suez, formerly Sita, is due to end soon and council officials are currently planning whether to renew it or find a new provider.

Karl Battersby, Strategic Director, Economy and Infrastructure, Kirklees Council said: “With our long-established waste contract coming to an end, we have an opportunity to explore improved services alongside and in sympathy with national strategy.

“This will allow us to renew our efforts to improve recycling rates across the borough.

“Incineration is currently our primary facility for waste treatment, allowing the Council to meet the proximity principle of managing waste locally where practical.

“We are looking forward to the publication of the National Resource and Waste Strategy, which was originally due in 2016/17. This national strategy will help us plan for any changes to statutory obligations as a local authority.”

The two worst councils for recycling last year were London’s richest and poorest boroughs - Newham and Westminster at 14.1% and 18.8% respectively.

David Palmer-Jones, chief executive, Suez Recycling and Recovery UK, said the decline in recycling rates in 2017/18 coincided with the introduction of major recycling import restrictions by China at the start of 2018.

He said: “Today’s annual recycling statistics unfortunately continue to show that the country remains in the recycling doldrums, after more than a decade of hard-won behavioural change.”

“The lack of progress is a reflection of the challenges facing the global recycling market, cuts to consumer communication and perhaps consumer apathy, and the majority of domestic political activity being focused on other areas in recent years.

“The imminent resources and waste strategy from Defra offers an opportunity for the nation to make an environmental step change, but is not going to be an immediate panacea to the current dwindling performance.

“We do, however, believe that Defra’s plan will deliver a positive direction for businesses, consumers and the environment.”