Shropshire's Recycling Rate Reaches 50 Per Cent For First Time

Residents living in the Shropshire Council area recycled or composted 50 per cent of their household waste in the year April 2009 to March 2010, Government figures have revealed.

This is up from 47.6 per cent in 2008/09, and well above the 2009/10 national average for England of 39.3 per cent.

It is the first time that the recycling rate for the Shropshire Council area has reached 50 per cent. The figure has now risen every year since 1998/99, when it was just 7.8 per cent.

The figures released today by Defra also show that 2009/10 was the first time that residents in the Shropshire Council area have recycled or composted more household waste than they sent to landfill.

In total 77, 359 tonnes of waste produced in the Shropshire Council area in 2009/10 was sent for recycling or composting, an increase of 4,182 tonnes on the previous year.

At the same time the amount of household waste being sent to landfill fell by 4 per cent - or 3,211 tonnes to 77,251 tonnes.
The figures also show that only five other counties in the UK now have a higher recycling rate than Shropshire, and that Shropshire is the best performing council in the West Midlands.

Councillor Mike Owen, Shropshire Council's Cabinet member for waste, said: " I'm delighted that our recycling and composting rate has risen once again, and that we have reached the significant 50 per cent milestone for the first time. This is a fantastic achievement and is due not only to the new recycling services and facilities that we are introducing across the county, but also to the efforts of people across the county who are making such good use of them.

"I would like to thank all residents for their efforts and encourage them to keep up the good work as we want to do even better in the future."

Donald Macphail, Managing Director of Veolia Environmental Services,  Shropshire Councils,  waste contractor - said: "We continue to make investments and improvements to recycling in Shropshire, and I would urge all residents to make full use of the kerbside collection service which will help to further improve recycling rates in Shropshire."