The amount of rubbish being thrown out by residents has dropped by 8% making Ealing one of the top ten performers in the country for reducing waste.

Recent statistics from DEFRA show that each person in the borough is throwing away an average of 31kg less waste than last year - the eighth biggest reduction in the whole country.

This reduction in waste has saved the council more than £818,000 because it pays £88 per tonne in tax to dispose of waste in landfill.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for Transport and Environment, said: "I’m really encouraged by this news and I would like to thank all residents for playing their part."

"Reducing household waste is so important, not only does it help to lessen the impact we are having on our environment, but it also saves the council a significant amount of money in landfill tax."

"This money can be used instead to deliver essential services in the borough. The DEFRA statistics show that in 2009/10 every person in Ealing created 325kg waste – that’s the same weight as four baby elephants."

"Households do produce more waste over the festive season so it is important to think carefully about how this can be reduced and when possible, recycled."

"By recycling as much as you can, you could also win some money for you local area through our Recycling Rewards competition. Details of this, as well as the Christmas recycling information can be found on the council website."