Lib Dems are demanding action, as new figures have revealed the growing scale of failure surrounding Haringey Council’s abysmal record on recycling household waste.

Figures buried in the council’s newlypublished Best Value Performance Plan show that the provisional rate of recycling has fallen further in the past 12 months, from an already low 5.5% to an even more dismal 4.6%.

Lib Dems say the figures indicate the total shambles surrounding Haringey’s recycling record, with the Labour-run council facing the prospect of being named, shamed and taken over by its own government for its abysmal record. Haringey’s 4.6% compares with a London average of over 10% and a government target of 17%. Labour Environment Minister Michael Meacher has warned that councils such as Haringey, which fail to meet his targets for recycling, will face having such services taken over.

Lib Dems say facilities are particularly bad in the west of the borough, despite the enthusiasm of local residents for recycling. At last week’s full council meeting, Neil Williams and Steven Gilbert, Lib Dem councillors in Highgate and Fortis Green wards, demanded more recycling points in their own areas, and forced Haringey to agree in principle, once suitable sites have been confirmed.

Councillor Bob Hare, Lib Dem spokesman on recycling, said:”Yet again, these are very poor figures. For them to have fallen further, for another year, is a major indictment of the council’s recycling policy. Haringey has got to do better.”