Environmentally-friendly households in Ashby and North West Leicestershire recycled more waste than any other district in the county last year, new figures show.

Figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) presented to the authority's Cabinet this week reveal that the district's recycling rate is the highest in Leicestershire.

Councillors on North West Leicestershire District Council's (NWLDC) Cabinet heard that the district recycled 46.6 percent of all household waste collected between April 2021 and March 2022.

The rate also sees the district make it into the top ten of East Midlands authorities, placing the district eighth out of 39 local authority areas.

Despite the high performance of the service, councillors approved the launch of a review of the waste service to take into account future changes being introduced by the Government.

Councillor Michael Wyatt, Portfolio Holder for Community Services at NWLDC, visits the authority's Linden Way depot in Coalville

The review will examine how waste and recycling is currently collected and sorted in the district, and how this will be impacted by government initiatives including the rollout of national food waste collections and a deposit return scheme.

Feedback from councillors, residents and staff on existing ways of working will also be taken into account.

Local authorities are also waiting for further detail from the government on plans to require all councils to collect waste and recycling in the same way.

NWLDC has run its Recycle more… campaign since 2019 to boost recycling rates across the district. The campaign has seen:

• The launch of weekly food waste collection trials for 4,000 homes in parts of Measham, Coalville, Ravenstone and Whitwick. More than 550 tonnes of food waste has been collected since November 2019, saving around 413 tonnes of CO2
• 500 homes trialling two different recycling trollies to make recycling easier and more convenient
• More than 15 tonnes of batteries and 111kg of mobile phones collected at the kerbside since December 2019.

Councillor Michael Wyatt, Portfolio Holder for Community Services at NWLDC, said: "The credit for us achieving the best recycling rate in the county must go to our residents who are thinking about reducing black bin waste, reusing where they can and increasing recycling.

"But while we're proud of these figures, we're not resting on our laurels, and as a new administration we're committed to listening to the views of our residents, staff and councillors on how we can make the service better.

"Given national changes to waste collection over the next few years, it's important that we look to create the best service we can that we, residents and staff can be proud of and supports our Zero Carbon aims."