Carlisle is one of the best recycling cities in the UK

(Date of issue: Friday, 28 November 2008)

It’s official Carlisle is now the best recycling city in the North West and is one of the top 25 performing local authorities in the UK.

Performance information drawn together by Wastedataflow from 47 local authorities in the North West, places Carlisle as the best performing, with a 48% household recycling rate for 2007/2008. All UK figures audited by the Audit Commission also place Carlisle 24 out of all UK 398 local authorities.

The cost of Carlisle City Council’s waste collection service, at £50 per household per year, compares favourably with other local authorities across the country.

The figures are the result of City Council’s new waste collection scheme that included the expansion of kerbside recycling to thousands of householders last spring. The staggering 48.74% compares to 34.51% in 2006/2007.

The amount of household waste that ends up in landfill has also halved the amount landfilled by the city in 2002. Five years ago, the City Council landfilled 37,500 tonnes of rubbish from Carlisle households. That figure has been cut by 14,000 tonnes as a result of residents supporting Carlisle’s ‘recycling revolution’.

Cllr Ray Bloxham, Portfolio holder for Environment and Infrastructure, said:

"Our recycling rates increased dramatically since the introduction of the new collection scheme and we’re now one of the best performing areas in the UK.

"The scheme is ambitious because in addition to recycling paper, glass and cans (materials that are relatively easy to recycle) the Council is collecting difficult to recycle materials like plastic and cardboard. Carlisle City Council is the first authority in Cumbria and one of only a few authorities in the UK to collect these bulky, but low weight, materials direct from the householder and is now reaping the benefits."

Since the introduction of a new look waste collection scheme in Carlisle last March, Carlisle City Council has expanded the range of materials that can be recycled. This includes plastic, cardboard, glass, paper and garden waste. Paper; glass bottles and jars; and tins and cans can all be recycled within a greenbox.