A total of 6 MILLION recycling and waste collections – weighing more than 48,000 tonnes - were made in East Devon last year, new figures reveal.

Crews collected the equivalent weight of 4,000 London double decker buses, through a whopping 4.5 million recycling collections and 1.5 million waste collections.

As well as this, a further 300,000 green waste collections were made, including 22,700 tonnes of dry recycling and food waste.

The dry recycling was sent for processing to be made into new products and the food waste has been used to generate bioenergy and fertiliser for farms.

A further 6,700 tonnes of green waste was also collected, composted, and used as soil conditioner on East Devon farms.

As well as collecting huge amounts of recycling, a further 18,600 tonnes of waste was collected and sent to an ‘energy from waste’ centre, before being turned into electricity for the local grid.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) said recycling efforts had gone from strength to strength since it introduced a new recycling and waste system in 2017.

Last year, it was rated the ninth best recycling council in England, recycling 60 per cent of all household waste.

Councillor Geoff Jung, EDDC’s portfolio holder for coast, countryside and environment, said: “Yet another milestone achieved by our recycling and waste partners Suez who has continued to provide a near normal service throughout the pandemic.

"A massive thank-you to the team who continue to provide our kerbsides collections and a massive thank-you to every single resident who recycles each week.”

Residents can get tips on East Devon’s ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ scheme online at eastdevon.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/reduce-reuse-recycle.