LA collected waste per capita from households in England 2010-2022

Waste from households collected by local authorities in England amounted to 377 kilograms per person in 2022. This represented a decrease of some 7.8 percent in comparison to the previous year and the lowest figure reported since at least 2010. The region with the largest residual waste collected per household is North East England.

Recycling rates slowing down

The recycling rate of household waste in England was 43.4 percent in 2022, down from a high of 45.5 percent in 2019. In the past three years, recycling rates decreased as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, which caused disruptions to the waste management sector. In turn, England did not meet its target of recycling 50 percent of household waste by 2020. While COVID-19 had a clear impact on recycling, rates had been oscillating since the middle of the decade.

Waste composition

Residual waste has historically made up the largest fraction of household waste collected across England. This is unfortunate, as residual waste cannot be effectively recycled, composted or reused. Instead, it must be disposed of through less environmentally friendly methods such as landfilling or incineration. In 2022, residual waste accounted for nearly 57 percent of England's household waste, while an additional 26 percent – or 5.5 million metric tons – was collected to be sent for dry recycling. Out of this amount, paper and card constituted the largest fraction.