LANDFILL waste has fallen by 35,000 tonnes in South Gloucestershire, new figures have shown.

The district’s household rubbish collection overhaul introduced in November 2010 has proven a success with recycling rates reaching 54 per cent, beating the local authority’s target of 50 per cent.

Conservative lead member for communities Cllr James Hunt (Con, Emersons Green) said the council had worked hard to achieve better value for money and make it easier for people to re-use, recycle and compost their waste.

"Households have enthusiastically embraced these new services, which is borne out in the much lower amount of waste being sent to landfill, surging recycling rates, and impressive resident satisfaction levels," he said.

"There’s still more we can all do to ensure we stay ahead of many other councils and so we’re always looking at potential ways of how we might drive up performance even more."

In the first full year of the revamped service the amount of municipal waste sent to landfill more than halved compared to 2010, dropping from over 68,000 tonnes to just over 33,000.

Reward-based incentive schemes are now being developed by council officers to encourage households to drive up performance even further.

Councillors will consider the most appropriate initiative later this year.

Back in 2000, the local authority signed a 25-year contract with waste firm Sita, which left out kerbside plastic bottle and food waste collections.

The service provided was, however, found lacking by officers who branded it unfit for purpose.

Following negotiations over several years with Sita, a new collection package was introduced in 2010 at no extra, extending to plastic bottles and food waste.