AWARDS have been presented to three of Devon County Council s recycling centres - including one at Exmouth and another at Honiton.

AWARDS have been presented to three of Devon County Council's recycling centres - including one at Exmouth and another at Honiton.

The county council has held the internal competition for its sites since 2005 to recognise the efforts of the staff, based on their recycling performance and the tidiness of the site.

Councillor Margaret Rogers, Devon County Council Executive Member for Environment, said: "These awards are recognition of the important role the county council's recycling centres and staff play in encouraging people to recycle more and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

"The centres have to cope with growing amounts of material while still maintaining the sites so that people can make use of better facilities, and I was very pleased to learn that Devon County Council's civic amenity sites are now taking plastic punnets in addition to plastic milk and lemonade bottles.

"Members of the public who use these sites also deserve praise for doing their bit to improve Devon's environment and helping to increase the county's recycling rates."

There are three categories of awards to reflect the different challenges each site faces; they are the small site category for up to 300 tonnes throughput per month, medium site category for up to 300 to 750 tonnes throughput per month and large site category for over 750 tonnes per month.

The overall Best Kept Site award, presented to the centre judged to have achieved the highest standards of housekeeping throughout the year, went to Sutton Barton Recycling Centre near Honiton. The site, which was upgraded earlier this year with a new sales area and improved facilities, also scooped the medium site category by achieving a recycling rate of 78.42%

Councillor Barry Nicholson, Devon County Councillor for Honiton St Michael's, said: "Congratulations must go to the team at Sutton Barton for this double award. It's recognition of the hard work the team put in to make the site as accessible and easy to use as possible and it has achieved a remarkable increase in its recycling rate."

The small site category winner was Punchbowl Recycling Centre, near Crediton, which achieved a recycling rate of 76.93%

Councillor Nick Way, Devon County Councillor for Crediton Rural, said: "This is another great achievement for the Punchbowl recycling centre. The changes to the site layout and facilities earlier this year have helped make it much more convenient for householders to access the site and the recycling rate has risen by another two per cent."

Knowle Hill Recycling Centre, near Exmouth, took the large site category award for a recycling rate of 76.39%.

Councillor Brenda Taylor, Devon County Councillor for Exmouth Brixington and Withycombe, said: "This is well deserved for the centre which is proving popular with residents and achieving an impressive recycling rate."

Devon County Council has 28 recycling centres and rural skip sites. In 2007/8 they achieved an average recycling rate of 70% which contributed to the county's overall recycling rate of 50%.