Harrow Council said it was “disappointed” to miss its latest recycling target but that it was committed to improving to support a greener environment.

Its latest strategic performance report showed that around 42 per cent of household waste was recycled and composted in the first quarter of 2019/20.

This was short of its overall target of 50 per cent and represented a similar figure to previous quarters.

According to the council, this is still the seventh-highest ratio in London, and it noted its expansion in terms of collecting food waste from flats.

But it admitted there is room for improvement and that a specific recycling and communications plan has been devised.

Cllr Varsha Parmar, responsible for the environment at Harrow Council, said: “While Harrow is still good a recycling, we are disappointed to see that our recycling rate has gone down slightly – and this is a trend seen nationally.

“Contamination one of the main contributors of this, and we are looking at ways to work with both residents and businesses to better manage their waste.”

She added the council is working closely with its partners to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and encouraged residents to recycle as much as possible.

This, she explained, will reduce the borough’s carbon footprint and free up more money to be spent on “vital services”.