ENVIRONMENTALLY-conscious residents in north east Essex have beaten their own record after recycling more household waste than ever before.

Elliot Furniss

ENVIRONMENTALLY-conscious residents in north east Essex have beaten their own record after recycling more household waste than ever before.

The latest figures reveal that in August people living in the Tendring recycled 30.6% of their waste - putting the area on course to smash the Government target for the year.

This was slightly up on the previous high of 30.4% in last November - the first time ever the 30% mark was achieved in the district.

The latest success pushes Tendring's overall figure for 2008/09 up to 26.7% which is almost 3% above the target set by the Government.

The total amount of recycled waste in August was 1,250 tonnes and this takes the running total for the period from April to a massive 5,285 tonnes.

Michael Talbot, portfolio holder for the environment at Tendring District Council (TDC), welcomed the rise and promised the authority would do all in its power to help residents continue to set new records.

“It may only seem a small rise from the previous high but we are continuing to move in the right direction - and the more we recycle the harder it becomes for residents to improve even further,” he said. “This figure of 30.6% is very impressive as it refers only to dry recyclables as this council does not collect green waste.”

TDC collects paper, cardboard, cans and plastic containers from the kerbside for recycling.

Mr Talbot thanked all those residents across Tendring who took the time and trouble to recycle their waste.

“Once again they have shown us just how much they really do care about the environment around them and I hope this upward trend will continue,” he said. “Our weekly recycling collection - rather than fortnightly - came in almost two years ago and it has proved a massive success.

“Residents told us it is what they wanted and they have proved that by using it.”

The council and its contractors are currently investing in improving “bring sites” around the district for glass, textiles and cans.

It is hoped that the upgrade of the banks - which now number 80 - will help increase the volume of recycling even further.