Bradford taxpayers had to shell out £1.5 million to deal with waste wrongly placed in recycling bins last year, figures suggest.

The Local Government Association is calling for labelling on packaging to be made clearer, to avoid recyclable waste getting mixed up with non-recyclable items – an issue estimated to have cost English councils around £60 million last year.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs data shows 16,451 tonnes of waste collected by Bradford City Council were rejected at the point of sorting in the year to March – more than the 10,143 tonnes rejected the previous year and the largest volume since records began in 2014-15.

Recycling charity Wrap, which works with governments and companies on sustainability, estimates that waste disposed of as recycling, which is then found not to be recyclable, costs councils around £93 per tonne to dispose of.

It would mean rejected waste cost taxpayers in Bradford an estimated £1.5 million in 2020-21 alone.

Overall, the authority collected 240,442 tonnes of waste, up from 227,571 the year before.

Across England, 647,000 tonnes of recycling were rejected in the year to March, up from 525,000 tonnes the year before and the largest amount since records began in 2006-07.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: “Each year, over 40,000 tonnes of recycling is collected at the kerbside in Bradford district.

“Thousands of tonnes of waste including nappies, foods and liquids is wrongly placed in recycling bins which causes extremely high contamination levels making up to 45% of the material unsuitable for recycling.

“This costs Council Tax payers hundreds of thousands of pounds each year in processing, transporting and disposal of contaminated materials which can’t be recycled.

“Just a few contaminated bins on a street can render an entire bin-wagon-load non-recyclable.

“Council staff have to carry out inspections on every load of recycling to determine the source of contamination and prevent it entering the sortation process.

“This information is passed to recycling teams who visit the areas responsible and highlight the issues with residents.

“We initially aim to raise awareness and educate people but also use enforcement against persistent offenders.

“Everyone is responsible for properly sorting their waste and placing it into the correct bins.

“Doing this correctly significantly reduces the costs and impacts on the environment.

“Details of what you can and cannot recycle can be found on www.bradford.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste.”