Stockport in the top 1% nationally for recycling

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has this week released the latest figures on how waste is managed by local authorities. Stockport residents have once again led the way by recycling more than any other metropolitan authority and rank in the top ten of England's 354 councils.

Throughout the country the proportion of household waste that is recycled is rising, reaching 43.2% this year. There is much variation across how well local authorities are doing in terms of recycling - this year Stockport residents have recycled 60.97%, almost half as much again as the national average.

The UK's household waste situation continues to improve; in 2002 there was 25 million tonnes of waste going to landfill or incineration, this year it has fallen to 14 million.

Local MP, Mark Hunter, commenting on the statistics said:

'For a number of years now Stockport has led the way in recycling and I am not surprised to see us doing so well again in the league tables. It is a tribute both to the hard work of Stockport Council for their waste collection operation and to the people in our area that care about the environment and the impact that they make on it.'