'Message received' as less waste being sent to landfill

The amount of waste sent to landfill from the 10 sites in the area over the summer dropped by 14 per cent over the previous year, down from 7,800 tonnes, to 6,700 tonnes.

Coun Symon Fraser, portfolio holder for environment and planning, said: "This is excellent news because the cheapest waste to get rid of is the waste we don't make.

"It saves the council and our taxpayers the cost of dealing with it and is better for the environment."

A spokeswoman added: "People in the East Riding are much more conscious about thinking first before throwing things away where they end up in landfill. We are reminding people all the time to reduce waste and save the cost to the council of managing waste."

Between April and September, 78 per cent of all the waste taken to the sites was recycled and composted.

The council said results had been "outstanding" at a number of sites including:

Weel household waste recycling site near Beverley where 757 tonnes were sent to landfill compared with 1,340 tonnes last summer.

Airmyn HWRS took 5.500 tonnes, compared with 6,200 tonnes for the same period last year.

Driffield HWRS achieved a recycling rate of 79 per cent (77 per cent for last summer) with 584 tonnes sent to landfill, down from 631 tonnes last summer.

The sites take an increasingly wide range of recyclable materials, including batteries, both car and household, as well as

engine oil, fridges and fluorescent tubes.