Poor recycling blamed for high household waste
BBCPeople putting cardboard and plastic bottles into the wrong bin have been blamed for a county having some of the highest waste figures in England.
The average person living in the Cumberland Council area threw away 460.8kg (0.46 tonnes) of household waste in the 2023-24 financial year, while those in Westmorland and Furness threw away 460.2kg.
The figures, which are the most recent available, are the seventh and eighth highest in the country.
The councils said they were "still seeing paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and glass" in their "residual waste stream" and would be writing to residents to clarify misconceptions about what could be recycled.
They said recyclable items were being put in the wrong bin but that could be because people felt some rubbish was not clean enough to recycle, such as pizza boxes.
A spokesperson acting for both councils said they were handing out advice and support as to what could be recycled to encourage more people to do so, and to stop items from ending up in general waste.
The councils said their waste per household figures had been falling since 2023-24 and they were rolling out new services to allow more items to be recycled from home.
Cumberland Council said its waste per household figure was on track to fall to about 420kg (0.42 tonnes) for the 2025-26 financial year.
Elsewhere, those living on the Isle of Scilly had the highest waste per person in 2023-24 at 592.8kg (0.59 tonnes).
Shropshire had the second highest with 494.9kg (0.49 tonnes), while those living in the North Lincolnshire Council area had the third highest at 488.7kg (0.48 tonnes).
