Councils recycling less than half of waste in West Midlands

The amount of rubbish recycled in the West Midlands is varying wildly from council to council - with some managing to process less than a third of what they collect.

While some authorities in Staffordshire were recycling more than half of what is left for the bin men, councils in the Black Country manage less than 50 per cent.

And in Dudley it was just over a third, 34.8 per cent.

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However, this year the council added to its recycling by taking plastic bottles and cardboard as well as the paper, cans and glass it already collected.

Birmingham, the biggest council in the area in terms of population, was managing to recycle just 30.4 per cent.

The figures on recycling have been compiled by recycling company Sita which has created an online map of council recycling data across the UK.

Some councils are scaling back on recycling with Wolverhampton City Council announcing it will scrap collections of garden waste between December and the end of March to save money.

Today there were calls for councils to make recycling arrangements less confusing.

The vast differences in policies across council borders has also been blamed for the confusion.

John O'Connell, director of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "The disparity in the level of recycling across the region demonstrates how important it is for Councils to make it as easy as possible for residents to recycle. Residents often complain that the onerous and confusing requirements associated with recycling make it too difficult for busy families."

Councils across the West Midlands have different systems and contractors for recycling, with most using wheelie bins but some still collecting rubbish in black bags.

Some also recycle food scraps weekly. There are also councils who have gone for fortnightly bin collections.

Sandwell, for example, empties its dry recycling every week as well as general and food waste.

Others, such as Wolverhampton, empty the recycling every fortnight but empty general waste every week.

But South Staffordshire empties its general waste and recycling on alternate weeks.

There are also different policies between councils over what waste can be collected.

South Staffordshire Council has recently started accepting plastic bags in its recycling bins. In neighbouring Wolverhampton, they have to go into general waste.

Chief executive officer of Sita, David Palmer-Jones, said: "If we are going to improve recycling rates, our industry needs to engage the householders that play such a vital role in the process and providing quality, accessible information is the first step in that process."

Marcus Gover from Wrap, which helps businesses and individuals cut waste, said: "Recycling has increased significantly over the last 10 years, however a lot of items that can be recycled are still going to landfill.

"We know that people want to recycle, but there is confusion around the issue."

Sita's information came from Wrap, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for the 2012/13 financial year and Resource magazine.

The authority in the West Midlands with the biggest recycling rate was Stratford-on-Avon District Council with a rate of 60.3 per cent - among the highest in the country.

The lowest in the region is neighbouring Redditch Borough Council at 29.3 per cent.

Of the 30 local authorities in the region, nearly half are exceeding the European Union's 2020 target of 50 per cent for the UK as a whole

The average recycling rate for the region is 44.5 per cent - just above the national average.

The figures take into account how much waste is produced per person in each area, how often each authority empty bins and what materials they recycle.