SOMERSET THE BEST WHEN IT COMES TO RUBBISH - HEATH

12.00.00am GMT Tue 27th Nov 2007

David Heath, MP for Somerton and Frome, has expressed his delight at seeing Somerset lead the way in reducing household waste. Somerset County Council had the third lowest residual household waste of any local authority in the country. It also had the second highest recycling and composting rate, recycling over 47% of its waste, compared to a national average of 31%.

Mr. Heath was similarly pleased to see that residents in South Somerset produced the least amount of residual waste per household in the country. South Somerset District Council also had the tenth lowest total household waste per head.

Commenting David Heath MP said:

"I am delighted to see the people of Somerset leading the battle against climate change by recycling lots of our household waste. It is fantastic that Somerset County Council has the second highest recycling rate in the country and that we recycle nearly half of all our waste. With a little effort, I hope next year we can top the table and push our recycling rate over 50%.

I am similarly pleased to see South Somerset District Council also featuring so high up the lists in DEFRA's annual waste tables. The District Council has worked incredibly hard to reduce residual waste to the lowest level in the country.

I must congratulate the County Council, South Somerset District Council and all the residents of Somerset, who have put so much effort into reducing waste and increasing recycling. These figures have confirmed what I have suspected for some time - the people of Somerset are the greenest in the country."