Councils are among top 20 for recycling

Isle of Wight, Eastleigh and Hampshire were praised for recycling or composting hundreds of tonnes of paper, compost, glass, plastic, tin, garden cuttings and vegetable matter. The performance is especially impressive as the councils set themselves much tougher targets, usually above 30 per cent, than most local authorities responsible for waste disposals.

Southampton, though, recycled less than one-seventh of household waste discarded in dustbins in the city, according to new government figures.

Figures published by the Department for Environ-ment revealed Isle of Wight recycled or composted 35 per cent of household waste in 2003-04 - beating its 26 per cent target. It was followed by Eastleigh (31 per cent), Hampshire (27 per cent), New Forest (24 per cent), Fareham (21 per cent) and Winchester (18 per cent), all beating the national average of 17 per cent.

Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said: "While there is still a lot of work to do to raise levels of recycling even higher, this is a strong indication that the nation is adjusting to more sustainable waste practices.

"This has been brought about through the commitment of the majority of local councils, a fantastic response from the public and carefully targeted government support."

Only Gosport (15 per cent), Test Valley (14 per cent) and Southampton (13 per cent) failed to reach the national target, showing that recycling in England is at its highest ever level.

Mrs Beckett said the country was poised to meet its national recycling and composting target of 17 per cent - compared with 14.5 per cent in 2002-03.

The statistics show a reduction in the amount of household waste sent to landfill for the first time in years. From April, councils failing to reach government targets aimed at reducing landfill will face fines of £150 a tonne.

Mrs Beckett warned that 'green hit squads' could be sent to councils which "continue to demonstrate no commitment to improvement".