The amount of waste Norfolk people are recycling has gone up - but a lack of UK facilities means some has to be shipped halfway around the world for processing.
A new report has revealed some of Norfolk's recycled waste - including all cardboard - is being sent as far afield as Malaysia and Vietnam.
The annual report of the Norfolk Waste Partnership - which sees Norfolk's county, district, borough and city councils work together to improve waste and recycling services - for 2021/22 has just been published.
It reveals how the overall tonnage of recycling collected across Norfolk increased by 2.1pc to 44.2pc - more than 162,500 tonnes, while general waste went up by 0.5pc to 228,217 tonnes.
While 90pc of household recycling produced in Norfolk is sent to reprocessing plants in the UK, some 10pc - 16,250 tonnes - has to go overseas.
All cardboard goes to India, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam, some mixed paper goes to India and Malaysia, while some cans are taken to Germany.
And Jamie Osborn, Green city and county councillor said: "The fact that the amount of rubbish we produce is continuing to rise shows the government and local councils are failing in their approach to waste.
"Increasing the proportion of waste that is recycled is not enough to lessen our carbon footprint, especially if recycling is sent halfway across the world for processing.
"There needs to be much more focus on reducing the amount of rubbish that is produced in the first place."
A spokeswoman for the partnership said: "We try and recycle as much in the UK as possible, with 90pc of recycling in Norfolk currently being reprocessed in the UK.
"In regards to cardboard, there are no recycling facilities in the UK with enough capacity to deal with the amount of cardboard we throw away.
"Put simply, in the UK a lot of items arrive in cardboard packaging from overseas and end up in people's recycling bins.
"Cardboard is reprocessed in areas such as Asia, who manufacture lots and require the cardboard packaging."
What do we put in our bins?
The report also reveals what people are putting in bins - and how material which could be recycled is being dumped in general waste.
Samples were taken across a four-week period in October 2021 and again in March 2022.
Half of what was put in an average recycling bin was recyclable metals and glass. Almost 30pc was card/cardboard and plastic made up 11pc of household recycling.
But 13pc of material in recycling bins could not be recycled - including nappies, textiles and food waste.
Almost a third of the general rubbish bin is food waste and liquids, of which half was packaged food, such as surplus bread, uneaten ham and leftover hummus. Many areas of the county offer separate food recycling pick-ups.
In some areas of Norfolk 99pc of the glass found in general waste could have been placed in recycling bins, while 79pc of cardboard found in general waste could have been recycled.
Nigel Lloyd, chairman of the Norfolk Waste Partnership, urged people to try to put waste in the correct bins and to recycle more.
He said: "By improving what we all do everyone can contribute to a more sustainable future for our children and grandchildren, by taking simple steps to minimise their waste and by recycling waste responsibly."
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