Pembrokeshire's residents are being praised for their efforts in creating a more sustainable environment.

The news comes after it was announced that Pembrokeshire County Council had reached its recycling targets yet again.

This means less waste is sent to landfill with more being recycled at home, at work, via any one of the six civic amenity and recycling centres or at one of the 167 recycling points across the county.

Figures from the Welsh Assembly Government show that Pembrokeshire recycled 26.7 per cent of its waste in 2006/7, an increase of five per cent since 2005.

The management of waste is one of the largest issues facing the authority.

Landfill sites are not only running out, they also produce large amounts of methane, one of the gases responsible for global warming.

Stiff targets have been introduced in order to combat the amount of waste we throw away, and the council would be fined if these targets were not met.

Cabinet spokesperson for environment, planning and regulatory services Clr. Huw George, said the increase in recycling was an achievement we should all be proud of.

"This is wonderful news for the residents of Pembrokeshire and the waste management team of Pembrokeshire County Council who have been working hard to ensure we reduce, reuse and recycle our waste," he said.

"We should all be pleased with what we have achieved.

"I'm especially grateful to the residents of the county who understand the need to recycle our waste and who give their time to separate it into the necessary streams." Clr. George added that more needs to be done.

"We must continue this good work. We may have reached our goal for this yea, but the targets will be increased to 40 per cent by the year 2010 - so there is still plenty to be done.

"However, I'm sure that by working together we can achieve and exceed the targets that will be put in place in future years."