# The local environment: recycling and emissions in England

Two measures of the local environment, by council, from official statistics. In 2024 to 2025 England recycled about 43.7 per cent of household waste, a figure that has barely moved for a decade, and it varies enormously between councils. Territorial carbon emissions, meanwhile, have roughly halved per person since 2005. This page shows which areas recycle most and least, and how local emissions have fallen.

Source page: https://britishresilienceindex.com/deep-dive/council-environment
Machine readable data: https://britishresilienceindex.com/data/deep-dive/council-environment.json

## How to read this

Two sources. The recycling rate is the share of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting, from Defra's local authority collected waste figures for England. Carbon is territorial emissions, the greenhouse gases released within an area, from DESNZ, shown per person. Carbon counts everything in the area including industry and traffic, not just what the council controls.

## Recycling stuck, emissions falling

England's household recycling rate was about 43.7 per cent in 2024 to 2025, little changed in ten years and short of the 50 per cent target. The rate swings from under a fifth in some inner cities to nearly two thirds in parts of the shires. Carbon tells a more positive story: territorial emissions per person have fallen about 52 per cent since 2005, to around 4.79 tonnes, driven mainly by cleaner electricity rather than anything local.

- **Recycling pct**: 43.7
- **Carbon per capita**: 4.79
- **Carbon fall**: 52

## From under a fifth to nearly two thirds

Recycling rates vary more between councils than almost any other local service. Stratford-on-Avon recycles 63.9 per cent of household waste, while Tower Hamlets recycles just 17.0 per cent. The best are mostly shire districts with kerbside garden and food collections and houses with gardens; the lowest are dense inner cities of flats where separate collection is harder.

**Best**

| name | pct |
|---|---|
| Stratford-on-Avon | 63.9 |
| Milton Keynes | 63.2 |
| South Oxfordshire | 61.3 |
| Three Rivers | 61.1 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 61 |
| East Devon | 60.1 |
| Dorset | 59.9 |
| North Somerset | 59.6 |

**Worst**

| name | pct |
|---|---|
| Tower Hamlets | 17 |
| Liverpool | 17.9 |
| Birmingham | 20.3 |
| Middlesbrough | 21.5 |
| Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea | 22.5 |
| Dartford | 23.7 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 24.2 |
| Westminster | 24.4 |

- **England pct**: 43.7
- **Note**: Household waste recycling rate, 2024-25. City of London and the Isles of Scilly are set aside as small outliers. Source: Defra.

## Halved per person since 2005

Territorial carbon emissions, everything released within an area, have fallen from about 10.06 tonnes per person in 2005 to 4.79 tonnes in 2023, a drop of around 52 per cent. Most of that is the national grid burning far less coal, not local action. The lowest emitting places are dense London boroughs with little industry and short journeys; the highest per person are areas dominated by heavy industry or major motorways, where the emissions belong to the plant or the traffic rather than the residents.

- **Per capita**: 4.79
- **Per capita2005**: 10.06
- **Fall pct**: 52
**Lowest**

| name | perCapita |
|---|---|
| Harrow | 2.1 |
| Hackney | 2.1 |
| Lewisham | 2.1 |
| Waltham Forest | 2.2 |
| Redbridge | 2.2 |
| Gosport | 2.2 |
| Haringey | 2.3 |
| Wandsworth | 2.3 |

- **Note**: Territorial CO2 equivalent emissions per person, 2023, excluding land use. The lowest emitting areas are shown; the highest per person are dominated by single industrial sites or motorways and are not a measure of how residents live. Source: DESNZ.

## For the local environment

- The recycling rate has barely moved in a decade and remains short of the 50 per cent target. Is the limit household behaviour, council collection systems, or the packaging that reaches homes?
- Recycling rates run from under a fifth to nearly two thirds. How much of that is housing type and how much is the service a council provides?
- Local carbon has halved mainly because of cleaner national electricity. What is left to cut is transport and heating, which are harder. Where does that leave local targets?
- The highest emitting areas carry the emissions of industry and motorways that serve the whole country. Is it fair to judge those places on a per person figure?

## Sources

- Local authority collected waste management, annual results 2024-25 (Defra) (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-collected-waste-management-annual-results) · Open Government Licence v3.0
- UK local authority and regional greenhouse gas emissions statistics 2005 to 2023 (DESNZ) (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-local-authority-and-regional-greenhouse-gas-emissions-statistics-2005-to-2023) · Open Government Licence v3.0

## Caveats and data notes

- The recycling figure is the share of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting. The England headline on this basis is about 43.7 per cent; per authority rates use the household waste recycling measure, which differs slightly in scope.
- Recycling is collected by district councils in two tier areas and by unitary authorities elsewhere, so the league mixes tiers. City of London and the Isles of Scilly are set aside as small outliers.
- Territorial carbon counts all emissions released within an area, including industry, agriculture and transport, not just the council's own operations or what residents directly cause. Per person figures are distorted where a single large plant or a motorway sits in a small population.
- Most of the fall in local carbon since 2005 reflects the national electricity grid moving away from coal, which is not within local control.
- Both datasets cover England here. Carbon is the 2023 calendar year; recycling is the 2024-25 financial year.
- Sources: Defra local authority collected waste 2024-25; DESNZ local authority greenhouse gas emissions 2005 to 2023.

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British Resilience Index, a non-partisan UK civic data project. Every figure is
reconciled to its primary official publisher before it is shown. Free to cite with
attribution: https://britishresilienceindex.com