NEW figures have revealed that residents in Cheshire West are among the best in the country at recycling their waste.

Research conducted by Envirofone has revealed that the borough has the fourth-best recycling rate in England.

According to the most recent figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), 70,536 tonnes of household waste was not recycled in 2016-17 – equal to 42.01 per cent of all household waste in the year.

Cllr Karen Shore, Cheshire West and Chester Council cabinet member for environment, said: “I am pleased to confirm that the final 2016-17 recycling rate was 57.99 per cent, ranking CWAC fourth in the top unitary recycling authorities in England.

“We expect to have the final audited 2017-18 recycling rate shortly.

“We are currently reviewing our waste strategy to develop a long-term vision for the management of waste and recycling in the borough and are considering a number of options and solutions to further increase recycling rates.”

According to Envirofone, East Riding of Yorkshire had the best recycling rate for 2016-17 at 65 per cent of all waste, while Westminster had the worst – with just 17 per cent of waste being recycled.

Denise Timmis, head of online at Envirofone, added: “We hope our research helps to spread awareness of how much of our waste is currently not being recycled and encourages people to take extra measures to ensure we’re able to increase the amount of recycled waste here in the UK.”