RECYCLING in Nottingham has fallen for the first time in at least six years.
The city council has blamed government funding cuts after the amount of household waste being recycled fell to 33.2 per cent in 2011-12 – down from 37.3 per cent the previous year.
Overall there was 6,000 tonnes less of items including glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, tins and garden waste recycled.
All councils in Notts who dispose of waste saw a fall in recycling, except Gedling.
It comes at a time when recycling rates nationally have continued to rise.
Nigel Lee, of Nottingham Friends of the Earth, said: "This is a serious problem that needs to be resolved.
"It's an example of Government funding cuts going to the point where it is making services worse."
Eco-campaigner Shlomo Dowen, of Mansfield, a member of People Against Incineration, said: "It is a cause for concern. It is frustrating to the point of agonising."
Councillor Alan Clark, the city council's portfolio holder for Energy and Sustainability, said funding cuts had forced the council to axe a trial of food waste collections and reduce the months that it collects garden waste.
He added that council hoped it could turn it around by making it easier for residents in flats to recycle and running a New Year campaign to reinforce the message about what can and can't be recycled.
A Defra report said: "This could indicate that authorities have by now exploited the easiest targets in terms of recycling, and are increasingly facing challenges in influencing behaviour change."
