You can view the video of Neil Parish MP's visit to Greendale on the council's You Tube channel

Neil Parish MP said that the council's recycling efforts set an example to the rest of the country

East Devon District Council's recycling efforts were highly commended by Neil Parish MP, who recently visited the facility at Greendale Resources Recycling Centre.

Mr Parish – who is the Chair of the Parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee – visited the plant to view the council's recently installed sorting and baling machine which separates 5,000 tonnes of recycling a year collected from residents across the district.

The quality of the sorted materials produced by this sophisticated technology maximises the value of the materials that are being recycled. This means the council can make the most of the excellent effort residents are putting into recycling in East Devon.

In February 2017, the district was recycling 43% of its waste every week. Today, residents recycle up to 60% of their waste every week thanks to the new technology.

Neil Parish MP for Honiton and Tiverton said:

I'm very impressed with it and how practical it is and the fact that you're genuinely taking out the plastics, you're taking out the aluminium cans as well as the steel cans. You're recycling them and making use of that recycled material

You're working well on the kerbside so that people are actually recycling their rubbish, putting it in the right bins and in the right containers. All of this is really good stuff and I really want the DEFRA minister Thérèse Coffey to come down and see what's going on here in East Devon because I think you are an example to the rest to the country.

Cllr Tom Wright, East Devon District Council's portfolio holder for the environment, said:

I'm delighted that Neil Parish has come to see the great work that our Recycling and Waste team do here in East Devon. It's great to see that he is very impressed by our new sorting and bailing machine which is already having a great impact on our recycling efforts in the district. I would also like to thank the residents in East Devon for their continued commitment to recycling.

You can see our video of Neil Parish's visit on You Tube.