DEVON residents have produced less rubbish for disposal per household than in any other county according to government figures.

Defra figures for 2016/17 show that Devon’s households typically produced just 4.94kg of “black bin or bag” residual waste each week – down from 5.94kg in 2012, a 20 per cent decrease.

Devon has also cemented its place as one of the top recycling counties in the country, with a recycling rate of 55.7 per cent.

This means Devon is now third in the county recycling league table behind Oxfordshire and Surrey. This is the highest position since 2011.

Much of this progress is down to the hard work of Devon’s conscientious residents.

In recognition of this hard work, the public can still vote for who in their community has made a difference in the Fifth Recycle Devon Thank You Awards.

This year there have been more than 40 nominations in seven different categories including Your Recycling Hero, Collection Crew/Operative and Your School Recycling Hero.

You can vote online on the website: www.recycledevon.org up until February 16.

However, the statistics also reveal that a large amount of food waste is still being deposited in rubbish bins instead of using food caddies where provided.

Food makes up approximately 30 per cent of black bin or bag rubbish in Devon and 23 per cent in Torbay.

Tips on how to reduce the amount of food waste can be found on the Recycle Devon website: https://www.recycledevon.org/love-food-hate-waste .

Tips include cooking the right sized portions, using your freezer to good effect, cooking up left overs, and making a shopping list.

In total 41 per cent of the contents of “black bin or bag” rubbish placed out for disposal was found to be recyclable with the current collection services that area offered.

If this rubbish was recycled by householders, the recycling rate would climb to a massive 71 per cent in Devon, saving approximately £6.7 million in disposal costs and £1million in lost material income in the process.

To find out how to reduce, reuse and recycle more of your waste visit: www.recycledevon.org .