Recycling rates in Hastings revealed

Recycling rates in the south east have been revealed

Hastings has a recycling rate of 29.6 per cent – a figure which falls short of the government’s household waste recycling target for 2020 of 50 per cent, according to the DEFRA figures compiled by waste company InSinkErator.

It makes Hastings the 11th worst area in the region for recycling, ranking 57 out of 67 local authorities in the south east.

Neighbouring Rother has a recycling rate of 50.2 per cent – read more here.

The worst performing area in the region is Gosport – which has a recycling rate of just 23 per cent.

Hastings is among 39 local authorities in the south east failing to hit the 50 per cent target set by government.

Within the UK as a whole, Hastings ranks at 318th out of 353 local authorities.

In response to the findings, a spokesperson from Hastings Borough Council said: “There are many reasons why our rate is lower than many areas across the country.

“Approximately 1/3 of properties within Hastings receive a weekly residual waste collection due to lack storage options (thus cannot accommodate a bin).

“Weekly residual waste collections are one of the biggest barriers to high recycling rates.

“Hastings has a considerable number of self-contained flats and HMO’s with extremely limited space for recycling storage, again presenting a considerable barrier to high recycling rates.

“Hastings does not operate a free garden waste service and therefore our overall recycling rate isn’t inflated with green waste.

“Hastings is one of the most deprived towns in the country.

“Deprivation is a key barrier to high recycling rates- with high levels of deprivation often achieving low recycling rates.”

When asked what the council would do to help boost recycling rates, the spokesman said: “We’re going to be pushing the recycling message as we go into the Biffa contract.

“We’ve also simplified things a bit by allowing glass to be commingled with the rest of the recycling.”

View an interactive map of the recycling rates data here.

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