Recycling and waste services in North Somerset come out on top.

NORTH Somerset has the best recycling rate in the south west – and the second best in the country, according to new figures. National recycling figures have revealed that North Somerset is the best unitary authority for recycling in the region, recycling 58.66 of its waste. The figures have come from WasteDataFlow, the web based system for waste data reporting by UK local authorities to government, and are for the first quarter of 2011/12. Changes to the waste collection service were introduced in the summer of 2010 . Contractor May Gurney was awarded a seven year contract for the authority's waste collections and weekly recycling and food waste collections were introduced along with fortnightly pickups of general household waste. The new services has meant the amount of kerbside residual waste put out by residents has reduced from around 700 kg per household in 2009/10 to less than 470 kg per household in 2011/12. Since 2005, the amount of residual waste put out by householders has reduced by more than half. In the two years since the new regime was launched the authority has seen a 58% increase in the amount of waste recycled or composted from 38,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes. The recycling rate has increased from 37 per cent to58 per cent, making North Somerset the second best unitary authority in the country. The amount of household waste being collected has reduced each year by 21,000 tonnes and the cost of sending rubbish to landfill has been reduced by £2 million. A survey of residents has also shown that most are happy with the new waste regime, with 92 per cent happy with the household collections and 94 per cent of people satisfied with the recycling service. A total of 91 per cent of residents are happy with the food waste collection service while 95 per cent of people welcome the garden waste service. The national average satisfaction rate is 78% for these services. North Somerset Council executive member for recycling, Councillor Peter Bryant, said: "These figures are great news and I would like to thank residents for their efforts in recycling as much as possible."

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