HUNTINGDONSHIRE householders are the greenest in the country, making more effort than any other districts in the east of England to recycle their waste. According to a report published by the Audit Commission, the people of Huntingdonshire were the top re

HUNTINGDONSHIRE householders are the greenest in the country, making more effort than any other districts in the east of England to recycle their waste.

According to a report published by the Audit Commission, the people of Huntingdonshire were the top recyclers in the east last year.

The district managed to recycle the highest tonnage of waste, 16,324 tonnes - about 25 per cent of all its household waste - and finished top of the recycling league.

Peterborough was second (15,388 tonnes, 18.1 per cent) while South Cambridgeshire District Council was 16th (10,615 tonnes, 18.1 per cent), Cambridge was 23rd (7,300 tonnes, 15.6 per cent) and Fenland 38th (5,789 tonnes, 13.9 per cent). In percentage terms, the Broadland district in Norfolk recycled the most, 31 per cent but only 15,194 tonnes of household waste.

Councillor Paula Longford, executive councillor for operations at Huntingdonshire District Council, said: "This is a tremendous result, a huge tribute to the overwhelming support and enthusiasm our residents have shown for recycling.

"It is also a demonstration that the major investment in systems, vehicles and equipment in order to provide the comprehensive system that we now have in place, was the right thing to do."

The report, which was based on figures obtained from a GMB public services union analysis, found that 3.6million tonnes of waste was recycled in England in 2005/06.

Huntingdonshire residents were first introduced to recycling through the district council in 1999 through a green box scheme. This has since evolved to include green and grey wheelie bins - delivered to 9,000 homes and later expanded across the district.

Huntingdonshire is ranked fifth in the country for the amount of household waste it recycles.

INFORMATION: To find out more about recycling in Huntingdonshire visit www.huntsdc.gov.uk