England urged to urgently improve stalled recycling rates

Recycling rates stall nationally and have even declined in some areas, down by 0.8% in London and 1.2% in the East Midlands

England must urgently improve its recycling rates if it is to reach European Union targets by 2020, according to one of Britain's biggest waste companies.

David Palmer-Jones, the chief executive of Suez recycling and recovery in the UK, said England is trailing behind the EU after new figures show there has only been a marginal increase in recycling in England over the last two years.