Barrow Council faces criticism over country's 'worst' recycling record

The council was sending just 18.8 per cent of rubbish collected to be recycled, reused, or composted, way below the national average of 43 per cent according to figures from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

But the council defended itself and said it was determined to make improvements – with a green campaign launched recently leading the efforts to ensure more rubbish is recycled.

A council spokesperson said: “The council is determined to make Barrow a cleaner and greener area and has recently renewed its commitment to do so.

“Our current campaign, Cleaner Greener Barrow, was launched to highlight not only what items can be recycled as well as reducing the amount of waste going to landfill but to increase the borough’s contribution to a healthier planet.

"And this can only be done with the help of our residents to make our neighbourhoods cleaner and tidier for everyone to enjoy.

“For further details on our campaign and to find out what items can be recycled, please visit our website, barrow.gov.uk/recycling.”

The council has ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2037 which were set out in its climate change action plan.

Barrow MP Simon Fell urged the council to ‘step up’ and see improvement in the area for the sake of residents and the environment.

“The figures speak for themselves,” he said.

MP: Simon Fell

“Barrow’s Labour council doesn’t just have the worst recycling record in Cumbria – which would be bad enough – but in the whole of the UK.

“There’s no point declaring that the borough will be carbon neutral by 2037 if you can’t even get the basics right.

“Having spent much of the last few weeks speaking to residents in Hindpool and Roose ahead of the local elections, and having been lobbied by local schoolchildren on the issue, I know how much littering is on their minds.

“Tidying up our streets isn’t just the right thing to do for the town and borough, it’s the right thing for the environment too.

"As neighbouring local councils in Copeland and South Lakes have shown, it can be done.

"It’s time for Barrow Council to step up.”

Official figures from 2018/19 showed that just 19.4 per cent of household waste collected by the council is sent for reuse, recycling or composting.

That figure was actually higher than the recent statistics.

Last year, the Government set a new target to recycle 65 per cent of municipal waste by 2035 – almost three-and-a-half times the rate in Barrow.