Barrow has been ranked the worst performing area in the North West for the number of people recycling.

Barrow Borough Council has the lowest recycling rate in the North West, as well as the 3rd worst in the country.

In 2017 to 2018, Barrow only had a recycling rate of 19.6 per cent.

The government is aiming to his their household waste recycling target of 50 per cent by the year 2020.

The government has highlighted five strategic principles to ensure the target is made.

These include to provide recycling incentives, to prevent waste from occurring in the first place, and manage it better if it does, to ensure the ‘polluter pays’ principle by putting the onus on the manufacturers.

Cllr Steve Robson said “We accept that we need to do some further work on making sure we give clear and consistent messages about what is and isn’t recyclable and are working with our contractor on making whatever improvements we can.

“We are very keen to maximise our recycling across Barrow and take our responsibility very seriously to provide an effective service for residents.

“As a council we have passed a motion supporting the need to take action on climate change and to work toward doing our bit to address the climate emergency.

“The good news is that Barrow Borough Council can confirm that there was some improvement in 2018-19.

“The recycling rate for that year was 28% and the Council is working very hard to continue that improvement.”