BASINGSTOKE and Deane has been placed almost rock bottom in a new rundown of recycling rates.

Basingstoke and Deane was listed as 61st out of 67 councils in the south east when it comes to the rate of recycling.

The borough only recycled 28.6 per cent of household waste sent for recycling, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), which places the borough at a nationwide ranking of 324th out of a total of 353 councils.

The data, collated by waste company InSinkErator, looks to raise awareness of the need to encourage recycling to get authorities to meet the UK target of recycling 50 per cent of waste by 2020.

Leader of the Basingstoke Labour Group, Councillor Paul Harvey, blasted the borough’s position in the list collated from the figures.

Cllr Harvey said: “The council is doing nowhere near enough to help recycling in the area, look at the mess they have made with the bins.

“If they are not careful, they will be relegated off the list.

“The council needs to have a thorough review of what’s being done about it.”

The lack of facilities to recycle and information around the subject is part of the problem, according to Cllr Harvey.

He added: “It’s an issue that comes up so much, people are confused about what they can and can’t recycle and where they can. The council have got to provide more opportunities for people to have access to recycle. People in the area want to recycle, but are not able to as much as they want.

“Council tax has gone up but the service hasn’t improved, the administration is failing.”

Gosport was listed as the worst performing council in the south east, with a recycling rate of just 23 percent, followed by Slough with 23.9 per cent recycled, then Portsmouth at 24.8 per cent of waste recycled.

According to the data that was released, the main issue is with food waste, which while improving, is still the smallest percentage of waste being recycled.

Cabinet member for environment and enforcement, Councillor Hayley Eachus, said: “Unlike many other councils, we kept weekly rubbish collections, as that was what residents told us they wanted.

“But this means there is less incentive to put as much as possible in green recycling bins. We are still seeing too many things in the rubbish bins that could be recycled from home or at recycling banks, including tins, cans, plastic bottles, paper, card, glass and textiles.

“We will only collect in the green bin things that have a sustainable recycling market to give them another ‘life.’ “We are keenly awaiting the outcomes of government consultations on the national way forward for recycling, including food waste.

“With new contractor Serco, we are focusing on encouraging residents to waste less and put everything they can in their green bins.

“We want to be able to collect more things for recycling and are investigating new sustainable markets through the waste disposal authority Hampshire County Council.”