Lancashire’s ‘kindest area’ where almost half of all rubbish is recycled

West Lancashire has the highest recycling rates and the most charities per 100,000 people in the county, and also boasts one of the highest happiness scores, according to ONS data and information from the UK Government’s Register of Charities, collected by care company Guardian Carers.

Residents were found to recycle 48.1 per cent of waste, well above the Lancashire average of 39 per cent. The area also contained 5,402 registered charities, or 4,718 per 100,000 people – nearly five times the Lancashire average of 966 – and received an average happiness score of 7.51 out of 10. These figures awarded the authority an overall index score of 29.43, sending it straight to the top of the ranking.

South Ribble came second in the list of most caring areas of Lancashire. There, 45.5 per cent of waste is recycled and happiness levels score 7.76 out of 10. The area also has 4,752 charities per 100,000 people.

Chorley placed third as the most caring area in Lancashire, with a happiness rate of 7.96 out of 10 – the highest in the whole county.

Wyre placed fourth, followed by Fylde, Preston, Lancaster and Burnley.

Making up the bottom of the list was Rossendal, Hyndburn, and lastly Pendle, which reported the lowest recycling rates and happiness levels.

A Guardian Carers spokesman said: “This data offers us a compelling insight into which areas of Lancashire dominate when it comes to kindness in terms of charity support, environmental awareness and happiness ratings, which are a key indicator of collective wellbeing and community support.

"Areas such as West Lancashire, South Ribble and Chorley are excellent examples of communities which promote caring for others through charity work and being conscientious about the environment and their local surroundings, and this may well be the reason for their sky-high happiness scores.”

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