BLACK bins, brown bins, green bins, blue food bins, or bin bags... how we dispose of our rubbish has changed hugely in the past decade.

The precise combination of dustbins or bags depends on where you live, but everyone in Worcestershire has some sort of kerbside recycling service. Since the introduction of green bins and fortnightly recycling collections, recycling rates have rocketed.

Kerbside collections meant that we could all do our bit for the planet with minimum effort. But despite massive surges in the percentage of rubbish being recycled in Worcestershire since 2005 – from 20 per cent to 43 per cent – rates recently dropped in Malvern and Wychavon and ground to a halt in Worcester. Just over 36 per cent of household waste is now recycled in Worcester, 31 per cent in Malvern and 43 per cent in Wychavon. According to the district councils, responsible for collecting our waste, any further improvements will depend on us all changing our habits – throwing away less, buying less and recycling more.

Interestingly, neither Worcester nor Wychavon were able to tell us how much waste could be recycled if everyone used their bin system correctly, but Malvern Hills District Council calculates it could hit 35-40 per cent if everyone used their kerbside collections in the right way. Certainly, if recycling rates were higher it would help reduce costly landfill taxes which have leapt 102 per cent since 2008, costing Worcestershire and Herefordshire £9.8 million.

The picture is similar across the country. In 2011/12, 43 per cent of all UK household rubbish was recycled, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) admits it has “levelled off” nationally.

In 2010/11 it was 41.5 per cent, meaning the year-on-year increase was the lowest in a decade.A report by DEFRA says “authorities have now exploited the easiest targets in terms of recycling” and that town halls are now “facing challenges in influencing behaviour” of households. Worcestershire’s average is 43 per cent compared to 46 per cent in Gloucestershire, 48 per cent in Warwickshire and 43 per cent in Oxfordshire and Birmingham.

The best performers include Rutland, in the east midlands, at 58 per cent and Leicestershire at 54 per cent.

The county is in the top half of a national league table, but the rates tend to vary only slightly for most areas.

Councillor Emma Stokes, Wychavon’s executive board member for the environment, said: “The challenge will be to increase it further.

“We do need to encourage people to do more and get to even higher levels than we are at now.” Councillor Roger Knight, cabinet member for cleaner and greener at Worcester City Council, said: “The attention should be on what we all do as citizens – getting people to recycle more is half the battle.There’s a huge amount of material we can recycle and the onus has to be on the public. If food packaging was reduced that would make a big difference as well.”

Wychavon District Council is the only authority in south Worcestershire to recycle food waste into compost, which has led to calls for others to follow suit. Coun Knight said the option has been ruled out in Worcester due to the “horrendous expense” involved.

He said: “Our recycling collections are designed to maintain high quality services that provide good value for money.”

But the attitude has been criticised by environmental campaigners, who say the onus must be on town halls to help us more. Environmental campaigner Louise Brookes, of Hartlebury, near Worcester, who is fighting against plans for an incinerator, said: “The average recycling rate in Worcestershire is largely down to Wychavon.

“More than half the councils nationwide separate food waste, yet in this county it doesn’t tend to happen. It’s staggering.” Councillor Neil Laurenson, of Worcester Green Party, said: “Recycling in the county is around 40 per cent, whereas in other areas it's increasing.”

There’s a huge amount of material we can recycle and the onus has to be on the public. If food packaging was reduced that would make a big difference as well.”

Wychavon District Council is the only authority in south Worcestershire to recycle food waste into compost, which has led to calls for others to follow suit. Coun Knight said the option has been ruled out in Worcester due to the “horrendous expense” involved.

He said: “Our recycling collections are designed to maintain high quality services that provide good value for money.”

But the attitude has been criticised by environmental campaigners, who say the onus must be on town halls to help us more. Environmental campaigner Louise Brookes, of Hartlebury, near Worcester, who is fighting against plans for an incinerator, said: “The average recycling rate in Worcestershire is largely down to Wychavon.

“More than half the councils nationwide separate food waste, yet in this county it doesn’t tend to happen. It’s staggering.” Councillor Neil Laurenson, of Worcester Green Party, said: “Recycling in the county is around 40 per cent, whereas in other areas it's increasing.”