Recycling rates in Cheshire West have fallen over the last five years, new data shows.

The data, sourced from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also shows that the council collected 480.4kg of household waste per person from homes in the area in 2019-20 – though that was 2.1 kg less than five years earlier.

Of this, 56.4 per cent was sent for reuse, recycling or composting – five years ago the rate was 59.1 per cent.

This is still well above the rate for the North West, where 45.6 per cent of household waste was sent for recycling or reuse in 2019-20.

Cllr Karen Shore, CWAC Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport said: "Household waste recycling rates vary significantly across the UK, and fluctuate from year to year due to a variety of factors, so it is difficult to compare previous figures.

"For example, the way in which some materials are classed as recycled has changed therefore the way in which we report them has changed too. Although some materials are not recorded as recycled, they are being used for other purposes and do not go for landfill or expensive treatment processes.

"The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has also affected the current year's performance levels due to service suspension, site closures and increased waste generally due to periods of lockdown and home-working."

The total 480.4kg of waste per resident is 42.3kg higher than the north west average of 438.1kg, and 73.1kg above the England average.

The news has prompted environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy to say there is an 'urgent need' to completely overhaul how waste collection and disposal is approached, with more responsibility on producers to reduce packaging.

Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive officer, said: "Recycling rates have stalled for a decade.

"The hope is that the Environment Bill will see the crucial measures outlined in the government's Resources and Waste Strategy actually come about.

"These include Extended Producer Responsibility, a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers and consistent recycling collections, including food waste, which if they happen will make all the difference and get us where we need to be in terms of our current goals.

"If, through introducing these measures, we can dramatically reduce the amount of packaging reaching the market, ensure that refillable options are incentivised and insist all single-use packaging is 100 per cent closed loop recyclable consistently across the national, then, and only then, we will hit our goals and fix a system that is currently going nowhere."