ENVIRONMENTALLY-friendly Cambridgeshire residents lead the country when it comes to recycling and reducing the tonnes of household rubbish ending in landfill. And Huntingdonshire has overtaken South Cambridgeshire to become the best district in Eastern En

ENVIRONMENTALLY-friendly Cambridgeshire residents lead the country when it comes to recycling and reducing the tonnes of household rubbish ending in landfill.

And Huntingdonshire has overtaken South Cambridgeshire to become the best district in Eastern England, with both re-using more than 50 per cent of what households throw away.

Fenland District Council also makes it into the top ten for reducing the amount of waste thrown away per household - down by 28 per cent for 06/07. The district is also third in the country for improving composting and recycling rates - up 16.6 per cent to a total of 47.4 per cent.

The latest Government figures say Cambridgeshire County Council has the highest recycling and composting rate of any shire county or unitary authority. More than 48 per cent of rubbish was recycled in the 2006/07 financial year.

It is the fourth year running that Cambridgeshire has led the country when it comes to recycling and composting waste.

The county also leads the way in the UK for the lowest amount of rubbish per head that is thrown in the bin and is the highest authority of its kind in the country for recycling green waste - such as food and green garden waste. Peterborough City Council comes a close second for recycling of green waste.

This means that not only do the county's residents compost and recycle more but Cambridgeshire is also reducing the amount of rubbish each household does throw away.

For authorities that collect rubbish Huntingdonshire District Council is rated fourth in the UK for recycling and composting and South Cambridgeshire District Council sixth, with

51.7 and 51 per cent of their rubbish respectively

South Cambridgeshire is the top council of its type in the UK for recycling green waste, recycling 32.7 per cent while Fenland is ninth in the country with 27.8 per cent.

Cambridgeshire councils have put reducing, reusing and recycling rubbish as a top priority and have been working in partnership to tackle this problem and reduce climate change, the county council said today.

It costs councils millions of pounds each year to throw rubbish into landfill where it rots and produces gases that harm the environment and add to climate change.