Local councils urged to improve recycling performance

Minister for Environment John Gormley is calling on under-performing local authorities to improve their record on recycling.

The call follows a new report highlighting major differences in the performance of various local councils in a range of areas.

The report says Longford has the highest rate of household waste recycling at 57.9%, while Carlow has the lowest at just 6.5%.

A total of almost quarter of a million tonnes was recycled last year, but this is still dwarfed by the more than 860,000 tonnes that went to landfill.