Average Wiltshire resident produces around 107 family-sized turkeys worth of waste
New figures have been released from last year
In the last year, the average Wiltshire resident produced the equivalent of 107 family-sized turkeys in household waste.
New figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs shows that Wiltshire Council collected an average of 427.5kg of household waste per person from homes in the area in 2020-21.
That is down a bit from the previous year, which was 428.9kg.
The county's figures are also higher than the national average at 420.kg per person.
Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy is urging people across England to try and reduce their packaging waste ahead of Christmas.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said over 100,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated on Christmas Day across Great Britain, and 1 billion cards are thrown away:
“We all have a part to play in making the changes that will limit global warming and stem the rising tide of plastic that is choking our oceans.
"We must do better.
"Think about what you buy, what you consume and what you will do with the packaging waste that you create and make the right choices for our environment.”
Around 42% of household waste in Wiltshire was sent for reuse, recycling or composting in 2020-21 – down from 43% in 2019-20.
Resources and Waste Minister Jo Churchill said local authorities faced unprecedented challenges to keep rubbish collections running during the pandemic:
“Recycling and reusing more of our waste is key to helping us protect the environment for future generations.
“Despite a highly challenging year, less than 8% of local authority collected waste went to landfill, while food waste recycling from households increased by 12%."