Bradford Council has increased the amount of waste it recycles for the fifth year running - but it has still failed to meet its Government target.

According to latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Council recycled 16.73 per cent of its waste in 2004/5. Its Government target was 24 per cent.

The Defra league table of local authorities in Yorkshire ranked Bradford as 15th out of 20 for its recycling record.

Today the Council defended its position and said that extensive plans to improve its recycling levels were under way.

Ian Bairstow, head of the Council's waste management services, said: "The recycling figures released by Defra are for the year 2004/5 and show a 3.6 per cent improvement.

"Since then we have improved this performance by a further three per cent predicted improvement over the past 12 months which we have achieved by beginning to recycle garden waste.

"This year we are looking at consolidating things with another round of collections and a new insert into people's paper recycling bins which lets them put glass and bottles in as well.

"We are hopeful that these changes will see us recycling 24 per cent by the financial year 2006/7."

When Whitehall set the Council the stiff target of recycling 24 per cent of its waste, there had been the suggestion that the authority would be forced to pay more for its landfill tax, the tax payable on non-recycled waste.

Mr Bairstow said that this was now unlikely to happen and said that the changes the Council was making to its waste policies would be sufficient to see it achieve the 24 per cent target by the end of the next financial year.

"We are in line with national averages and are unlikely to face any penalties," he said.

The Council is also in the process of making far-reaching plans for its waste services.

A short-term contract for the disposal of waste through to 2010 is being tendered, as is a longer-term contract which could last for up to 25 years.

Coun Anne Hawkesworth, the Council's executive member for the environment, said: "It is shame when figures are released that refer to a period which was some time ago. It cannot be denied we have been playing catch up with these targets we were given, but the new measures and the extra funding has made a difference."