Lib Dem run Stratford-on-Avon leads the way in recycling

“We are top of the league,” say celebrating Stratford-on-Avon Liberal Democrat District Councillors as their council is named by the government as the best recycler in the country.

‘We’ve been climbing the league since we took over the council in 2023,” says Lorraine Grocott, the councillor in charge of environmental services. “Last year we were in third spot – in the Champions League places you might say – but this year we’ve stormed to the top.”

Almost two-thirds of all the household rubbish now goes for recycling in Stratford-on-Avon District, which is more than three-times better than some other local authorities.

The actual recycling rate achieved last year in the District was 63.9%, which was 2.9% better than in 2023/24. This gave Stratford-on-Avon the edge over Milton Keynes Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, which also topped 60%.

By comparison, the rest of the country’s average household recycling rate is well under 50%.

“Going top of the league is a huge success and it's a testament to our residents and their commitment to recycling. It’s an amazing achievement, and we would like to thank our residents and council officers for all their efforts,” says Councillor Grocott.

“Recycling is not only a better use of resources, it reduces landfill and saves our residents money in terms of rubbish disposal costs.”

“Now we’re at the top of the league, we aim to stay there! We’re constantly driving the recycling rate higher: our household recycling target in Stratford is over 64% for this year and more than 65% in 2026/27.”  

“It’s now mandatory for households to have weekly food waste collections, which has been a problem for some councils, but we’ve been doing it in Stratford for the past few years.”