The Audit Commission last year rated Cumbria County Council as "poor" for only recycling 12.7% of refuge.

Since the criticism, the figure has gone up to 25% and council leaders have announced they are taking on a "waste czar" to tackle the problem further.

They have also spent �400,000 on creating a compost plant at Hespin Wood, near Carlisle.

'Not complacent'

Councillor Lawson Short, responsible for waste management and disposal, said he now hoped to improve performance even more by recycling 75% of Cumbria's rubbish within 10 years.

He said: "We are not complacent even though we have been congratulated by the Government on our recent success.

"We recognise more needs to be done and to tackle the problem we are hoping to appoint a new head of waste."

The council is also paying district councils �1.2m a year to improve waste disposal.

More than 45,000 households in the Carlisle and Eden districts are now benefiting from a garden waste collection service.