Councils collecting less rubbish

A rise in household recycling has led to local authorities in England collecting less waste than ever before, according to new figures. More than eight out of 10 councils saw the amount of rubbish they had to collect fall in 2006/07 when compared with the previous year.

Meanwhile, more than nine out of 10 authorities recycled and composted more household waste in the same period.

But the Defra figures suggest major discrepancies between councils. The statistics give a breakdown of how individual authorities are contributing towards attempts to reduce waste, recycle more and landfill less.

The lowest percentage of municipal waste landfilled was 7%, recorded in the London Borough of Greenwich. The highest was the nearby City of London, which landfilled 93% of its municipal waste.

South Somerset District Council collects the least amount of household rubbish at 397lb (180kg) per person, the figures suggest. South Lakeland District Council in Cumbria collects the highest amount at 990lb (449kg) per person.

View Full Article 22^nd November 2007

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