A RECORD amount of waste from Wyre Forest households was wrongly placed in recycling bins last year, new figures show.

The Local Government Association said households and councils have worked hard to increase the amount of waste recycled, but are held back by manufacturers using unrecyclable packaging.

Rejected waste material can be turned away from recycling due to contamination by water, dirt, or chemical treatments such as preservatives or paint.

Figures from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs show an estimated 1,622 tonnes of household waste were rejected from being recycled after being placed in the wrong bin in the year to April 2022 – the highest level on record.

It is up from 1,576 tonnes the year before and up from 1,015 tonnes in 2014-15 when local records of rejects began.

Across England, 6.4 per cent of rubbish sent to be recycled in 2021-22 was rejected.

Last year's rejects in Wyre Forest accounted for 11.1 per cent of the 14,664 tonnes of household waste sent for recycling.

The national increase in rejected material reported across England is also likely due to China's ban on all solid waste imports and effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The figures show 44.1 per cent of household waste in England was recycled in 2021-22 – up slightly from 43.8 per cent the year before.

In Wyre Forest, 13,042 tonnes of household waste were recycled – 33.7 per cent of all rubbish. It was up from a recycling rate of 33.6 per cent in 2020-21.

A Defra spokesperson said it wants to recycle and reuse more waste, and support households to do so.

They said: “There was an increase in rejected material reported by local authorities in the wake of the pandemic but we have since set a suite of targets to reduce different types of waste, including plastic, glass, metal, paper and food by 2028 through our landmark Environmental Improvement Plan."