WHEN it comes to recycling rates local councils are putting out a mixed bag of results.

Bournemouth Borough Council recycles half of its waste, placing it in the list of top 30 councils in England – although the very best performing local authorities are hitting more than 60 per cent.

But at the bottom of the local league is the New Forest, where just over 30.8 per cent of waste is sent to be reused – that’s just 15 per cent more than the worst performing council in the country.

Dorset County Council also performs well, recycling just under half of its waste overall, but the rate among the local district councils is lower, ranging from 32.6 per cent in North Dorset to 41.9 in East Dorset.

And Borough of Poole puts in a fair performance, recycling 40.9 per cent of its rubbish last year.

The information, from 2009-2010, from has been released by the GMB union in a bid to highlight the risks of hefty landfill tax fines being imposed on those council that don’t pull up their recycling socks.

The tax – designed to encourage recycling – is going up from £48 per tonne to £80 per tonne by 2014.

Brian Strutton, GMB national secretary, warned: “Those households under the poorest performing councils will carry the brunt of that. Improving recycling is not only right for the environment but it will save money off council tax.”

Bournemouth councillor Michael Filer, portfolio holder for environment and transport, said they were “very proud” of their recycling rate, adding: “We are constantly striving to improve our performance. We continually promote waste services and campaigns to encourage residents to create less waste, while trying to expand the list of materials that can be recycled.”

Head of environment services at New Forest District Council Colin Read said while they were mindful of “good reports and statistics” local needs and residents’ satisfaction were considered more important.

“The New Forest is the only district in Hampshire that provides a weekly collection of both refuse and recycling together with over 100 bring-in sites for glass and other recyclables, against a cost per household that is fourth lowest in the county.”