Recycling is good for the planet – and your pockets

The latest figures, which are from the 2010/11 financial year, show that 51.6 per cent of rubbish was recycled.

And 50kg less waste per person was also produced. If this had been sent to landfill it would have cost the council £2.6m in landfill tax.

Councillor Budge Wells, deputy member for sustainable communities services, said: “Recycling is not only good for our environment, it’s good for council taxpayers’ pockets too.

“The landfill tax is going up next year to £64 per tonne so it’s important we recycle more to help keep Central Bedfordshire’s council tax down for residents in these tough times.

“However in the light of these new figures it looks like we are on track to reach our target of recycling 60 per cent of our waste in 2020.”

Items that are recyclable in this area include paper, cardboard, plastic and metal packaging and worn out textiles.