KIRKLEES Council was charged more than £1.1m in tax for waste sent to landfill.
For the last full financial year they paid out £1,182,000 landfill tax on municipal waste – which is all waste which the council is responsible for – in addition to household and trade waste.
It comes as their recycling rate was revealed to be below the West Yorkshire average for local authorities.
Kirklees came in at 31% of household waste being recycled, while neighbouring Calderdale was top, recycling 41% of waste. The West Yorkshire average is 35%.
Kirklees Council has sent 29,798 tonnes of municipal waste to landfill but 65,783 tonnes were recycled.
This is just under 14% of its municipal waste – all waste including both household and business – compared to Calderdale (47%), Bradford (71%), Leeds (70%) and Wakefield (65%). The Kirklees figure is so low because it is the only one of these councils to have an incinerator.
Authorities have different schemes for different kinds of waste.
The Huddersfield incinerator even recycles its ash, such as for compost.
All the Kirklees landfill waste goes to a Sita landfill site in New Crosby near Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire which is the nearest one to Kirklees run by that company.
But there are plans to boost the residents’ recycling rate which, in turn, would bring down the tax they would have to pay each year.
A Kirklees spokeswoman said: “Recycling collections have recently been introduced for all flats which means that all households in Kirklees can now have a collection of recyclables.
“Our main efforts currently are to ensure that best use is made of our various collection schemes through ongoing awareness and education in the community and through schools, including direct assistance to householders where this is needed to clarify what can be recycled, where, and how.”
In Calderdale, figures just released for 2010 show that 37% of waste taken to landfill could be recycled, but because of the contamination with other household waste it can only be sent to landfill.
Clr Barry Collins, Cabinet member for environment, said: “Residents in Calderdale deserve a pat on the back. Through their efforts, under the new recycling scheme we are managing to divert an additional 10,000 tonnes of waste from landfill to recycling.
“This is saving taxpayers an amazing £675,000 a year.”
They say that by increasing recycling 1% this coming year they can save £61,000 in landfill tax.
Among the schemes to boost recycling, Kirklees Council staff collect leaves and send them off to compost, freeing up space at landfill sites.
The Sita plant at Diamond Street in Hillhouse turns Huddersfield’s refuse into electricity and recycles all the paper, cardboard, drinks cans and plastic bottles that thousands of householders put into their green bins
For further information on what can and cannot be recycled go to www.kirklees.gov.uk/recycling
