LESS than half of Herefordshire's waste is recycled, which means it could miss a key government environmental target.

But the council says it is recycling more than ever and the amount of waste generated by people is falling.

In 2018-19, Herefordshire recycled or composted 37,635 tonnes of waste – 43 per cent of all its rubbish – according to the latest Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs figures.

This was marginally better than last year, when 42 per cent of the rubbish was recycled.

England as a whole recycled 43 per cent.

The Government wants half of the country's household waste to be recycled by 2020, but the trade body for waste disposers, the Environmental Services Association, says the country is likely to miss its recycling target.

Incinerator plants burned 37 per cent of the rubbish produced in Herefordshire, the vast majority going to specialist plants to generate heat and electricity.

Herefordshire sent 17,347 tonnes of waste to landfills, 20 per cent of the total. The government wants that cut to 10 per cent by 2035.

Last year a cross party report in the House of Lords called on the Government to take oversight of the industry and introduce an incineration tax.

Shlomo Dowen, of United Kingdom Without Incineration Network, said much of the country's incinerated waste could be recycled.

Local councils say recycled food waste has increased while waste sent to landfill has fallen.

They called on manufacturers to urgently stop putting non-recyclable items in the system expect any new government to give recycling a "shot in the arm" but there is "serious catching up to do" to keep up with other European countries.

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said: “Herefordshire Council’s recycling rate increased last year to the highest it has ever been.

"The quantity of waste generated per head of population has also decreased from 437kg to 394kg.

"These improvements are attributable to the hard work carried out by the waste management and community protection teams working with residents to increase their awareness of how to reduce, reuse and recycle more rubbish and educating people or enforcing legislation to ensure businesses are disposing of their waste correctly.

"Herefordshire Council officers are already looking into possibilities for future waste management options.”