Recycling rates up in Brighton and Hove - to 29 per cent

But although the rates of recycling are up, it has climbed to just 29 per cent from 26.7 cent per last year.

In the last published English council {https://www.letsrecycle.com/councils/league-tables/201516-overall-performance/recycling rankings} (for 2015/16), Brighton and Hove City Council was ranked 337 out of 351 with a 24.6 per cent recycling rate.

The new recycling rates should see it rise in the rankings, but it still has some way to go until it reached the heights of 2015/16's top ranked council South Oxfordshire, which had a recycling rate of 66.6 per cent.

Announcing the new figures at the environment, transport and sustainability committee on Tuesday (October 10), chairman cllr Gill Mitchell said: “For the first quarter of this financial year, April to June, our rates have increased by 2.46 per cent on the same period last year.

“We’ve delivered 45,000 new recycling wheelie bins in the city and they are proving popular. This, coupled with our new garden waste collections scheme which costs residents just £1 a week, is giving people more opportunities to recycle.”

The council said it is also responding to areas in the city where residents have difficulty storing larger recycling bins.

Cllr Mitchell added: “We are taking the time to look at what works best for residents in areas such as Poets Corner to ensure those that would prefer smaller bins get them as quickly as possible.

“There is no one size fits all, and anyone who is unable to store a wheeled bin has the option to continue using black boxes. Our aim is to make it easy and convenient for people to recycle more and I’d like to thank residents for taking the the time to recycle.”

In 2015 around 4,000 households in Hangleton and Portslade took part in a wheeled bin trial that led to a four per cent increase in recycling.