Bexley and Greenwich are recycling less household waste now than they did five years ago, shocking new figures reveal, while in Lewisham and Dartford less than a third of all household waste is recycled, reused or composted.

Recycling is high on the agenda after the second season of David Attenborough's Blue Planet was released this year.

New figures released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show the startling recycling rates in south east London.

Defra doesn't have a complete data set to show how much waste local authorities dispose of in the ground, however nationally this has almost halved in the last five years while the amount being used to provide energy from waste has doubled.

The average proportion of household waste recycled in England was 44 per cent, lower than in Wales where 55 per cent was reused.

That puts Wales only second after Germany in the world for recycling household waste, according to environmental analysts Eunomia.

England sits behind South Korea, Slovenia and Italy in 18th place.

Recycling has been on the news agenda lately with David Attenborough's Blue Planet II shining a light on how plastic is affecting our marine wildlife. It is thought more than eight million tonnes is dumped into the world's oceans annually.

Last week China revealed it may stop importing plastic from foreign countries including the UK, which may impact local authorities.

According to the environmental organisation Greenpeace, in the last year Britain shipped more than 2.7 million tonnes to China and Hong Kong.

Experts believe the restrictions could force councils to stop recycling certain types of plastic, as fees at sorting plants are likely to increase

Lewisham:

Of all of the rubbish thrown out only 18% gets recycled, less than a third of the amount the best performing council Powys managed to reprocess.

This is significantly below the government's current household waste recycling target of 50 per cent by 2020, set by the EU.

The latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) show that in the 12 months to the end of March this year Lewisham cleared away a whopping 124,482 tonnes of rubbish, with 81 per cent of that household waste.

Of the 17,888 tonnes from homes that were recycled or reused, 87 per cent was dry recycling and the rest was compost - food and garden waste.

The 82 per cent that wasn't recycled either went into landfill or was incinerated, with the ash going towards providing energy. Each household threw out on average 668kg of rubbish that was not reprocessed.

Dartford:

Just over a quarter of all household waste in Dartford is recycled, reused or composted, shocking new figures reveal.

Of all of the rubbish thrown out only 25 per cent gets recycled, less than half of the amount the best performing council Powys managed to reprocess.

This is significantly below the government's current household waste recycling target of 50% by 2020, set by the EU. And worryingly Dartford is recycling less of its rubbish than it did five years ago. Between March 2011 and 2012 the local authority recycled 27% of its waste, 2% more than in the same period up to March 2017.

The latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) show that in the 12 months to the end of March this year Dartford cleared away a whopping 36,852 tonnes of rubbish, with 99 per cent of that household waste.

Of the 9,187 tonnes from homes that were recycled or reused, 80 per cent was dry recycling and the rest was compost - food and garden waste.

The 75 per cent that wasn't recycled either went into landfill or was incinerated, with the ash going towards providing energy. Each household threw out on average 634kg of rubbish that was not reprocessed.

Bexley

Bexley is also recycling less than it did in 2012 despite the data being more positive than Lewisham and Dartford.

Between March 2016 and March 2017 - 53 per cent of all rubbish from households was recycled, which is one per cent less than the same period from 2011 to 2012.

In the 12 months to the end of March this year Bexley cleared away a whopping 121,304 tonnes of rubbish, with 81 per cent of that household waste.

Bexley is performing above the government's household waste recycling target of 50 per cent by 2020.

Greenwich

Between March 2016 and 2017 35 per cent of all rubbish from households was recycled, reused or composted, 4 per cent less than between the same period from 2011 to 2012.

This is despite a renewed focus on the environment and the use of plastic over the past five years, as well as the development of new technologies.

It is higher than the worst performing council in England and Wales, the east London borough of Newham, which recycled just 14 per cent of its household waste.

But Greenwich's 2017 figure is significantly below the government's current household waste recycling target of 50 per cent by 2020, set by the EU.

The latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) show that in the 12 months to the end of March this year Greenwich cleared away a whopping 124,817 tonnes of rubbish, with 86 per cent of that household waste.

Of the 37,346 tonnes from homes that were recycled or reused, 59 per cent was dry recycling and the rest was compost - food and garden waste.

The 65 per cent that wasn't recycled either went into landfill or was incinerated, with the ash going towards providing energy. Each household threw out on average 627kg of rubbish that was not reprocessed.