Recycling poinits were just not correct

I READ with interest the letter from Mr Taylor (It’s time authorities cleaned up their act) but have to say that I do not recognise any of the points being made. In Oxfordshire, local authorities are among the best in recycling performance. Indeed, figures for this year indicate that around 60 per cent of waste is being recycled. In a recent survey, out of 319 authorities in the UK, Vale of White Horse is first, South Oxfordshire second, West Oxfordshire eighth and Cherwell 18th in terms of recycling performance. In addition, total waste landfilled in the county was 276,000 tonnes in 2012, down from 311,000 tonnes in 2007. Reducing waste is more important than recycling and Oxford City produces some of the lowest levels of waste per person in the country. I’m not sure what new glass and plastic recycling measures Mr Taylor refers to in Cherwell: they have been recycling glass and plastics for many years. In addition, to say 26 per cent of recycled materials get landfilled is simply untrue. Inevitably, not everything that is put out for recycling gets recycled as people make mistakes and the odd non-recyclable item is put in the wrong bin. However, this rejected material is only around five per cent of what we collect, which then gets used to generate electricity. It is not landfilled. All Oxfordshire councils work together to increase recycling and reduce waste, not simply because it’s the right thing to do for the environment, but because it saves us all money too.