HOUSEHOLD rubbish being thrown away in Worcestershire is on the rise - with the economic recovery thought to be behind the surge.

Worcestershire County Council is preparing to boost its waste budget by £600,000 next year after finding more people are hurling items into their bins.

Back in 2011 the amount of rubbish being thrown away per property reached an all-time low in the county as people tightened their belts.

The council now says the rubbish is growing at nearly five per cent a year, standing at a staggering 469kg for every resident.

The target set by the council, which has launched a campaign called Love Food, Hate Waste, is 446kg per head.

A new report on the data, which still has to be validated by the Environment Agency, says the rise is "likely to continue", and links it with people's increased spending power.

It also says the household waste rise has a "significant impact" for taxpayers with food packaging, unwanted food items, a lack of interest in composting in parts of the county and pay rises all believed to be factors.

It relates to the second quarter of the current financial year, the period from July to September.

In the first quarter it stood at 473kg per head, meaning there has been a small imrprovement since then, against a backdrop of a year-on-year rise.

Extra garden waste collections by district councils has been mentioned in the report as another likely reason for the increase.

Councillor Anthony Blagg, cabinet member for the environment, said: "One of the problems with waste figures is that they can be out of date, but the upturn in the economy means more things are being thrown away, and that does have a ramification for tonnage.

"We are doing all we can to try and reduce waste, in fact the average family wastes £600 a year on food they throw away, to me that's not acceptable.

"We are pushing Love Food, Hate Waste and hope it'll have a knock-on over the next few months, so we hope to see it drop next year."

Landfill taxes have leapt 102 per cent since 2008, costing Worcestershire and Herefordshire £9.8 million a year.

The rise in household waste comes despite big advances in recent years in recycling, which stood at an average of just 20 per cent of all rubbish in 2005 but is now hovering around the 43 per cent mark.

The council says its Love Food, Hate Waste campaign is focused on saving households up to £60 per month by buying less and focusing on items with recyclable packaging.

For more details visit LetsWasteLess.com.