Improving recycling could save millions - council

The council discussed recycling at an executive meeting on Tuesday

Council bosses have said millions of pounds could be saved and the environment improved by increasing rates of recyling.

Recent figures presented to Bradford Council showed the current recycling rate in the district is 34% – way below the national target of 65% to be reached by 2035.

Bradford is also among the worst areas in the UK for contaminated recycling collections, with 39% of collections being contaminated, meaning much of the waste ends up at landfill.

At a Bradford Council executive meeting on Tuesday, councillor Rebecca Poulsen asked: "What are we doing wrong?".

She said: "The recycling rates and contamination rates are not great, and that's an understatement. It is good for the environment and good financially to recycle."

Members were given a report on the government's Simpler Recycling plans, which aim to "reduce confusion, improve recycling rates, and ensure all households have access to the same core set of services".

According to the report, the council has to pay £100 more to process a tonne of regular waste compared to a tonne of recycling.

Contaminated recycling costs the taxpayer £2.3m a year, and waste left at tips cost £2.3m a year to process, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The report said each year Bradford Council spent an average of £14m processing kerbside household waste and £700,000 processing kerbside recycling.

The government's plans include the national roll out of food waste collections next year and "kerbside collections for flexible plastics, such as soft plastics and plastic bags" by 2027.

The meeting was told there would be a dedicated "engagement and enforcement team" focused on improving recycling rates in Bradford.

Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: "We have to make it as easy as possible for residents to recycle."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.