New figures show less waste from Calderdale households was recycled last year

The Local Government Association said households and councils have worked hard to increase the amount of waste recycled, but are held back by manufacturers using unrecyclable packaging.

Figures from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs show 42,814 tonnes of household waste were recycled in Calderdale – 51.2% of all rubbish.

It was down from a recycling rate of 53.5% in 2020-21.

Across England, about 44.1% of household waste was recycled in 2021-22 – up slightly from 43.8% the year before.

An LGA spokesperson said households have made a "real shift" to ensure they are recycling as much as possible while councils work hard to share information on what can be recycled.

They said: “However, the manufacturers of plastic packaging products are still continuing to create and sell packaging that cannot be recycled and will be put in the recycling bin by people in good faith.

"The burden then falls on councils to not only collect it and dispose of it, but to pay the extra cost of disposing of it."

They added councils are trying to achieve net zero with “one hand tied behind their back" as manufacturers continue to produce plastic that cannot be disposed of sustainably.

It is estimated that 219 tonnes of household waste were rejected from being recycled after being placed in the wrong bin in the year to April 2022.

It is up from zero tonnes the year before and up from 0 tonnes in 2014-15 when local records of rejects began.

Across England, 688,000 tonnes of rubbish were rejected from being recycled in 2021-22 – making up 6.4% of waste sent to be recycled. It is the highest amount of waste turned away ever recorded.

A Defra spokesperson said it wants to recycle and reuse more waste, and support households to do so.

They said, “There was an increase in rejected material reported by local authorities in the wake of the pandemic but we have since set a suite of targets to reduce different types of waste, including plastic, glass, metal, paper and food by 2028 through our landmark Environmental Improvement Plan."