Households and councils are continuing to respond to calls to recycle more and cut the amount of waste that is sent to landfill sites. The latest municipal waste statistics from Defra show that recycled household waste has risen to 33.9 per cent and landfill waste has gone down from 16.9 to 15.8m tones. Household waste has also gone down from 25.8m to 25.6m tones.

Paul Bettison, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Environment Board, responding to the publication of the figures, said: “We still have some way to go before we are performing at the level of some of our nearest neighbours in Europe. But we are catching them up, and positive feedback like this should encourage all of us to keep up the effort to reduce and recycle our rubbish.”

He continued: “It is very encouraging to see people doing their bit for the environment by recycling more and reducing this country’s reliance on landfill. More than a third of household waste is now being recycled and local people and local councils deserve credit for this continuing improvement.

“While these figures are another step in the right direction, there is still much more to do. Britain is the dustbin of Europe and dumps more waste into the ground than any other country in the EU. This is costing the council taxpayer dearly in landfill taxes” he added.