Less than a third of the rubbish created by families in Huddersfield is being recycled.

Recycling rates in Kirklees are lagging well behind most of the UK, according to a new survey.

But households in Calderdale are currently among the best of British when it comes to making the best of our rubbish.

The household recycling figures for England’s local authorities continue to paint a picture of a nation stuck in the doldrums when it comes to recycling – with the national average recycling rate flat-lining around 44% for the second year in a row.

The average household recycling rate grew from 43.2% in 2012/13 to 43.5% in 2013/14 placing the UK on a trajectory likely to fall short of the EU-imposed target of 50% by 2020.

Kirklees, however, is well behind the average at just 31% but officials have pledged to look at ways of improving matters.

And they also insist that a lot of material does not go to landfill but is burned in the waste to energy plant at Hillhouse.

The council did scrap its popular doorstep glass collection service earlier this year to cut costs.

Glass recycling box

Calderdale is at the other end of the scale with a recycling rate of 60.3%, the best in the region.

A Kirklees spokesman said: “Thanks to the efforts of our residents Kirklees currently recycles 31% of its waste and has come a long way over the last 10 years from a starting point of 16%.

“We provide a service that diverts 93% of waste from landfill and delivers exceptional value for money and is the overall lowest cost per head of all Metropolitan Councils, but this comes with some constraints on what services we provide and what we are able to collect at the kerbside.

“As most people are aware the council is currently facing significant budget challenges but is using this period of review to explore new ways of working to further improve”.

Calderdale is the only authority in the Yorkshire region that is recycling over 60% of waste, and one of only seven authorities in England to achieve the feat.

The waste collection and recycling service in Calderdale has been operated by SITA UK since 2008, and during this time it has evolved from a black bag, back door collection system to encompass wide ranging recycling opportunities. The current scheme, which was introduced in 2009, involves alternate weekly collection of refuse, with a weekly recycling service for glass, cans, paper, plastic bottles, textiles and food waste collections.

Trials of new initiatives are also under way in Brighouse as part of a study to see how the UK can improve food waste recycling.

Clr Scott Benton said: “I’m delighted that Calderdale continues to achieve top recycling results. For the second year running we have achieved recycling rates of over 60% of waste, meaning we’re the best performing authority in Yorkshire. This is thanks to the hard work of local residents, our waste management team, and our contractors SITA UK and Associated Waste Management.”

SITA UK Chief Executive Officer, David Palmer-Jones, said: “With dwindling recycling rates and less than six years to go, the risk of the UK missing its EU target of a 50% household recycling rate by 2020 is increasing. Our industry is ready to play its part, but raising recycling rates will rely on the coordinated efforts of us all.”