Recycling rates in Portsmouth among the lowest in the country - but council says it is 'committed' to improving them

Of all local authorities in the south east, only Dartford has a lower rate than the 24.7 per cent reported by Portsmouth City Council while the 63.6 per cent figure in South Oxfordshire is the second highest in England.

The cabinet member for environment, Councillor Dave Ashmore, said recycling was 'a big issue' in the city and said the council was 'committed' to increasing rates, having pledged extra money for food waste collections this year.

Neighbouring Gosport Borough Council has a slightly higher rate at 26.6 per cent with Havant at 33 per cent, Fareham at 35.6 per cent and Winchester City Council at 40.5 per cent.

Nationally, St Albans has the highest rate of recycling at 64.2 per cent while at 17.9 per cent, Barrow-in-Furness is the worst performer.

Last year, Portsmouth City Council launched a joint campaign with the University of Portsmouth to encourage greater recycling in 'problem spots' in student areas of Southsea.

Cllr Ashmore said the problem was partly due to people moving to the city from other parts of the country with varying rules for recycling.

'Most students are not a problem,' he said. 'But we know there are areas of Southsea where it causes a real issue for other residents, and that's something we need to address.'

And last week, councillors approved hundreds of thousands of pounds to complete the roll-out of food waste collections to the entire city as part of its budget for the coming year.

Cllr Ashmore said this would make 'a real difference'.

'When we first introduced food waste recycling it was just for a small area but it was always our aim to provide it to the whole city and I’m absolutely delighted we’re able to do that now.

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'It is up to 40 per cent of a lot of people’s weekly rubbish collection. Food waste feeds climate change and we want to help people not only recycle it, but also reduce the waste too.'

The council has estimated that the roll-out, which is due to begin this autumn, will improve its recycling rate to 30.4 per cent by collecting more than 5,000 tonnes of food waste, putting it above both Southampton and Brighton and Hove councils.

There are also plans to increase the number of recycling banks across the city to reduce the amount of plastic being thrown away in general waste.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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