Four per cent drop in rubbish recycling levels

LESS rubbish is being recycled across the county despite more household waste being collected.

Figures released show that there has been a four per cent drop in the amount of waste recycled since 2016/17.

Leicestershire County Council disposes of rubbish which is collected by district and borough councils.

A spokesperson for Leicestershire County Council said: “Along with our district partners, we remain driven to support re-use, recycling and composting, and we also know that our residents are not showing any less ambition around recycling.

“But, like many other councils, recycling performance is influenced by a wide range of national and local factors, such as seasonal fluctuations in garden waste, but our figures remain broadly in line and, in some cases, higher than in other parts of the country.”

The authority said that people putting items in general waste that should go in recycling, and vice versa, had an impact on the amount of waste that is recycled.

The authority recently revealed that last year, 4,200 tonnes of recyclable waste was rejected because of contamination.

One of the main causes of the problem was people putting disposable nappies in recycling bins.

The spokesman added: “We also know that our residents can help us make this even better; 76 per cent of county households add one or more items to their recycling collection that is not accepted locally, which can be problematic in the recycling process.

“Meanwhile more than half put at least one item in the general rubbish that could be recycled.

“We would encourage all householders to check what items can and cannot be collected by their district council’s recycling scheme.

“The more that can be recycled, the better it is for the environment and it helps to avoid wasting money.”

County residents can visit www.lesswaste.org. uk/recycle/kerbsidecollections for more information about recycling collections.