'Get a grip of it' - figures show Liverpool second worst for recycling in England

Liverpool Council say new figures that reveal the city has the second worst recycling rate in England are 'disappointing'. Government data published recently showed that Liverpool has a household waste recycling rate of 17.9%, meaning that less than a fifth of recyclable household waste is recycled in the city. Only the London Borough of Tower Hamlets has a worse rate at 17.7%.

In comparison, the top authority for such recycling was South Oxfordshire, which has a household waste recycling rate of 61.6%, over triple Liverpool's ratio. Laura Robertson-Collins, Liverpool City Council cabinet member for neighbourhoods said the region needed 'to get a grip' of the situation.

She told the BBC: "We've got to do better and it's everybody's responsibility. It is a really disappointing result in terms of numbers and where we are in a league table." Cllr Robertson-Collins said it was 'absolutely essential' to recycle, and said it is 'about residents committing to recycling as much as they possibly can' and for those who provide the services to make it as simple as possible.

She said that people need to recycle more, but admitted densely populated areas had an affect. Cllr Robertson-Collins added: "It's not that surprising given in a big city it is harder to store waste and for people to recycle and reuse things. There is too much waste and we've really got to get a grip of it."

The BBC reports that a representative of the council said that 40% of waste in the city was related to food waste and 7% of recycled waste was lost due to contamination.