Tuesday 15:12
Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, today confirmed that householders in Dorset are recycling more waste than ever before.
The contribution made by local authorities in the Dorset to national recycling means that England is now poised to meet its national recycling and composting target of 17 per cent in 2003/04, Mrs Beckett said in a keynote speech to the Associated Parliamentary Waste Group.
Mrs Beckett's comments today come as DEFRA release the audited Best Value Performance Indicators showing local authority recycling and composting rates during 2003/04.
The figures show that residents in Dorset are recycling 29 per cent of their household waste, such as paper, glass, cans and plastic - the highest in the region.
Mrs Beckett said: "This is positive news. England looks certain to meet its national recycling and composting target, the first time such a target has ever been met.
"While there is still a lot of work to do to raise levels of recycling even higher, this is a strong indication that the nation is adjusting to more sustainable waste practices. "This has been brought about through the commitment of the majority of local councils, a fantastic response from the public and careful targeted Government support."
However, Mrs Beckett warned that some poor performing councils will face action, as single figure recycling rates are "no longer acceptable":
"Environment Minister, Elliot Morley, will be engaging personally with each of the very poorest performers to ensure they receive the right support or, if they continue to demonstrate no commitment to improvement, to take stronger action"
More detailed information on current household waste management practices, and confirmation of the national recycling and composting rate for 2003/04 will be available in the Municipal Waste Management Survey published later this year.
ENDS
Data on local authorities individual performance, set against individual recycling and composting targets and rates of improvements is listed in the attached table.
SUMMARY OF SOUTH WEST REGION LOCAL AUTHORITY PERFORMANCE AGAINST 2003/04 STATUTORY PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING
Local authority Recycling and Target for Increase composting rate 2003/04 (%) since 2003/04 (%) 2002/03 (%) Dorset County Council 29 33 2 Bath and North East 29 33 3 Somerset Council Forest of Dean District 27 22 16 Council* Somerset County Council 27 28 7 Devon County Council 27 33 5 West Devon Borough Council 26 30 4 North Cornwall DC* 25 14 14 Bournemouth Borough Council 23 33 -1 Torridge District Council 23 22 1 Cornwall County Council 23 12 5 Kerrier District Council 22 12 6 South Hams District Council 21 24 4 Caradon District Council 21 10 5 Wiltshire County Council 21 20 2 Carrick District Council 21 14 6 Gloucestershire County 21 24 4 Council Stroud District Council 21 26 0 Torbay Council 21 20 1 Christchurch Borough 20 22 7 Council Teignbridge DC 19 24 5 North Dorset District 18 33 1 Council East Dorset District 18 33 2 Council North Devon District 18 20 -2 Council Cotswold District Council 18 33 2 Taunton Deane Borough 18 18 4 Council South Gloucestershire 18 14 4 Council Salisbury District Council 17 16 1 Exeter City Council 17 20 3 Penwith DC 17 10 9 Mid Devon District Council 17 22 1 Restormel BC 17 16 2 East Devon District Council 16 18 1 Purbeck District Council 16 33 3 North Somerset Council 16 14 2 Swindon Borough Council 15 30 1 Plymouth City Council 15 16 2 South Somerset District 15 15 4 Council West Somerset District 15 14 3 Council Weymouth and Portland 15 30 2 Borough Council Cheltenham Borough Council 14 16 1 West Dorset District 14 18 2 Council Mendip District Council 14 14 5 Tewkesbury Borough Council 14 14 5 Kennet District Council 14 11 -4 Bristol City Council 13 18 -1 North Wiltshire DC 11 10 2 Sedgemoor District Council 11 13 2 West Wiltshire District 10 10 3 Council Gloucester City Council 10 12 2 Isles of Scilly Council 0 16 NA
All local authorities with waste management responsibilities have been set individual Statutory Performance Standards for recycling and composting in 2003/04 and 2005/06 and are required by law to meet them.
A more ambitious, but achievable, national target of recycling and composting 25 per cent of total household waste has been set for 2005/6. Help and advice is available to local authorities to help reach the next national target. For more information see http://www.defra.gov.uk
Defra will continue to provide funding - about £265m in direct short term funding over the period 2003-6 - and a range of support services to help meet these requirements. We can help local authorities improve, and we want to work together with less-strong performers to achieve better results - the Defra's Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) is providing a range of targeted support measures, toolkits and best practice advice for local authorities to follow. These cover procurement, strategy-making, kerbside recycling, waste collection from high-density housing estates, civic amenity sites and collecting bulky goods
WIP is also responsible for delivering longer term funding to local authorities to support more sustainable waste management. This includes the £275m worth of extra waste PFI credits included in the 2004 Spending Review. We see PFI as one of the best ways to support value-for-money investment in waste services. Current healthy levels of demand for PFI projects suggest that many local authorities agree.
Issued on behalf of Defra by the Government News Network
All GNN press releases are online at http://www.gnn.gov.uk
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