News from the Mayor - February 2019

At the start of the year I was pleased to announce that, according to data released from the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs, Bristol is the leading city for recycling.

The city ranks number one out of the eight English Core Cities with an increased recycling rate of 44.9% for 2016/17. This means Bristol is on track to meet our ambitious recycling rate of 50% by 2020.

The stats show a further 1.6% increase in recycling since 2016/17, and confirms Bristol’s environmental credentials. Our rate is better than the other seven English core cities where it ranged from Birmingham at only 20.7% and Liverpool on 26.6%, while Manchester and Newcastle achieved 38.56% and 38% respectively.

The new data demonstrates that Bristol is well ahead of the game in terms of recycling with rates increasing rapidly and general waste tonnages going down. The figures also show a significant drop in the amount of waste sent to landfill, which fell 8%, from 27.9% to 19.9%.

We’re committed to reaching our target, which is why we are investing in a fleet of new vehicles and trialling new ways of collecting recycling to help people to improve the rates even further. I’m really grateful for the work by the council’s waste company, Bristol Waste, who have worked to raise awareness and help residents understand the small steps they can make to save resources, save the city money, and ultimately save the planet.

Campaigns like the award-winning food waste campaign ‘Slim My Waste – Feed My Face’ meant a 16% increase in the amount of food waste collected since June. That’s more than 700 tonnes of additional food waste collected to date; equivalent to 56 double-decker buses.

When food waste composts naturally it generates CO2 which is bad for the environment. The additional waste diverted to date thanks to Slim My Waste is equal to 669 tonnes of CO2 savings, the same as the emissions of 142 cars. Plus, the additional biogas created will power an extra 180 households for a whole year.

We know there is still a journey to go on and that we cannot do it alone, but by working with residents - who have literally done tonnes to help already - we can help Bristol waste nothing.