UK League Table 2011/12
resource.co | 9 January 2013

UK League Table 2011/12

Rank Authority Residual waste per person p.a (kg) Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting
1 Oxfordshire County Council 171.8 59.6
2 Denbighshire County Council 172.9 57.4
3 Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames 186.2 46.8
4 Rutland County Council 186.3 61.3
5 Ceredigion County Council 191.9 56.4
6 Magherafelt District Council 192.2 60.2
7 Carmarthenshire County Council 192.5 50.2
8 Bromley LB 192.8 49.9
9 North Somerset Council 194.9 59.7
10 Bexley LB 195.2 53.5
11 Tower Hamlets LB 198.8 27.1
12 Bath and North East Somerset Council 199.6 52.0
13 Monmouthshire County Council 201.4 57.6
14 Cambridgeshire County Council 203.8 55.8
15 Rotherham MBC 206.0 50.4
16 Leicestershire County Council 206.8 56.2
17 Bridgend CBC 207.8 51.7
18 Milton Keynes Council 208.0 53.8
19 Merton LB 208.3 37.3
20 Leicester City Council 208.7 41.9
21 Caerphilly CBC 210.1 55.4
22 Kingston-upon-Hull City Council 210.2 49.3
23 Conwy CBC 210.8 54.0
24 Devon County Council 212.1 55.2
25 Cardiff County Council 212.5 49.8
26 Calderdale MBC 213.8 43.7
27 City and County of Swansea 215.5 46.7
28 Swindon Borough Council 215.7 48.2
29 South Gloucestershire Council 216.6 53.1
30 Bristol City Council 217.4 41.0
31 Central Bedfordshire Council 219.6 51.1
32 Surrey County Council 219.7 51.5
33 Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council 220.0 45.7
34 Suffolk County Council 220.0 53.2
35 Newport City Council 221.6 47.4
36 Staffordshire County Council 221.7 53.7
37 Essex County Council 222.1 51.8
38 Somerset County Council 223.3 50.9
39 Hertfordshire County Council 223.6 50.4
40 Derby City Council 224.2 46.4
41 Vale of Glamorgan Council 225.1 49.7
42 Lincolnshire County Council 225.8 52.8
43 Croydon LB 227.5 38.1
44 Walsall MBC 228.9 46.0
45 Westminster City Council 229.5 25.1
46 Barnsley MBC 229.5 45.9
47 Bournemouth Borough Council 229.7 52.3
48 Cheshire East 231.0 52.9
49 Bradford City MDC (MBC) 231.2 39.8
50 Wrexham CBC 232.2 52.2
51 Gloucestershire County Council 232.8 47.2
52   Dorset Waste Partnership 235.5   50.9  
53   Southend-on-Sea Borough Council 236.7   46.8  
54 Solihull MBC 237.8 46.1
55   Norfolk County Council 238.2   45.3  
56 York City Council 238.7 46.4
57   West London Waste Authority 239.7   39.4  
58 Thurrock Council 240.2 42.4
59 Sandwell MBC 240.5 40.7
60 Lancashire County Council 240.6 46.8
61 East Renfrewshire 241.8 52.7
62   Coventry City Council 241.8   37.2  
63 Torbay Council 242.4 42.7
64   Warwickshire County Council 242.5   48.6  
65 City of London 243.4 36.9  
66 Leeds City Council MBC 244.2   37.4  
67 Sutton LB 244.5 37.4
68   Nottingham City Council 245.0   33.1  
69   Wokingham Council 245.2   42.6  
70   Western Riverside Waste Authority 245.6   28.8  
71   Banbridge District Council 245.8   52.0  
72   Armagh City & District Council 246.2   42.8  
73   Pembrokeshire County Council 246.4   46.3  
74 Stirling 247.6 52.1
75 Gwynedd Council 247.7 46.9
76   Omagh District Council 247.7   43.3  
77 Falkirk 248.2 53.1
78 Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council MBC 248.5   34.1  
79   Bracknell Forest Borough Council 249.2   42.5  
80   Cheshire West and Chester 249.3   49.6  
81 East Riding of Yorkshire Council 249.6   51.3  
82   Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council 250.4   40.5  
83   Hartlepool Borough Council 251.2   44.7  
84 Dudley MBC 251.3 35.1
85   Castlereagh Borough Council 251.4   42.2  
86   Shropshire Council 251.4   50.4  
87   Blaenau Gwent CBC 253.2   43.4  
88   Peterborough City Council 253.3   45.0  
89   Flintshire County Council 254.1   49.1  
90   South Tyneside MBC 254.5   38.6  
91   Greater Manchester WDA (MBC) 254.8   40.9  
92   Sheffield City Council 255.8   29.1  
93   Northamptonshire County Council 256.3   44.5  
94   Newry & Mourne District Council 256.8   37.1  
95   Worcestershire County Council 257.0   43.3  
96   Durham County Council 257.3   44.3  
97   Herefordshire Council 257.5   40.1  
98   Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC 257.8   41.5  
99   Derbyshire County Council 259.3   43.3  
100   West Dunbartonshire 259.9   44.3  
101   Buckinghamshire County Council 260.3   45.3  
102   Reading Borough Council 260.5   36.8  
103   Darlington Borough Council 261.1   44.7  
104 Greenwich LB 261.4 39.1
105 North Ayrshire 261.8 50.1
106   Isle of Anglesey CC 262.6   56.1  
107   North Lincolnshire Council 263.7   47.9  
108   Fermanagh District Council 263.9   35.6  
109   Warrington Borough Council 263.9   43.3  
110   Nottinghamshire County Council 264.0   42.8  
111   North Down Borough Council 266.0   45.4  
112   Slough Borough Council 266.0   30.7  
113   Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council 266.2   43.2  
114   Stoke-on-Trent City Council 266.6   38.5  
115 Torfaen CBC 266.6 44.4
116   Wolverhampton MBC 266.6   40.8  
117 Wiltshire 267.3 43.0
118   Craigavon Borough Council 267.4   43.6  
119   Lisburn City Council 267.4   40.6  
120 Kirklees MBC 268.1 34.0
121   Larne Borough Council 268.7   49.9  
122   Wakefield City MDC 268.9   39.3  
123 Southwark LB 268.9 27.3
124   Birmingham City Council 269.7   29.5  
125   North Yorkshire County Council 270.5   46.2  
126 Doncaster MBC 270.5 44.4
127   West Sussex County Council 270.7   44.0  
128   Hampshire County Council 271.1   40.5  
129   Cumbria County Council 271.4   46.0  
130   Telford and Wrekin Council 272.3   43.2  
131   North London Waste Authority 273.0   30.0  
132   West Berkshire District Council 273.0   46.2  
133   Luton Borough Council 273.7   32.5  
134   Kent County Council 274.4   41.1  
135 West Lothian 274.6 44.1
136   Antrim Borough Council 274.7   49.4  
137   Blackpool Borough Council 275.9   38.6  
138   Southampton City Council 276.0   23.3  
139   Medway Borough Council 276.7   37.9  
140 East Ayrshire 276.8 46.2
141 Perth and Kinross 278.0 51.4
142   Dungannon & South Tyrone Borough Council 278.4   41.6  
143 Edinburgh 278.6 31.5
144   Bedford Borough Council 278.8   38.2  
145   Brighton and Hove Council 279.6   28.1  
146   Newtownabbey Borough Council 280.1   43.4  
147 Gateshead MBC 280.8 36.2
148   Ballymena Borough Council 281.1   38.0  
149   Portsmouth City Council 281.6   24.3  
150 Inverclyde 282.2 38.9
151   Sunderland City Council 282.5   36.9  
152   Carrickfergus Borough Council 282.6   40.9  
153 Renfrewshire 283.5 42.0
154   East Sussex County Council 284.0   39.2  
155   Down District Council 284.6   33.0  
156   Neath Port Talbot CBC 285.1   41.3  
157   Northumberland County Council 285.3   40.8  
158   Merthyr Tydfil CBC 285.5   39.8  
159 Wigan MBC 285.5 36.8
160   Cookstown District Council 286.0   41.0  
161   Plymouth City Council 286.3   31.8  
162   Strabane District Council 286.8   33.6  
163   North Tyneside Council 287.3   37.3  
164 Scottish Borders 287.6 43.9
165   Powys County Council 287.8   43.0  
166 Fife 288.3 52.9
167   Ballymoney Borough Council 289.5   36.2  
168   East London Waste Authority 289.7   30.2  
169 Clackmannanshire 290.3 52.0
170   Ards Borough Council 290.4   41.2  
171   Halton Borough Council 291.2   39.9  
172 Midlothian 291.4 47.0
173   Moyle District Council 294.1   41.2  
174 South Ayrshire 296.2 46.2
175 Aberdeen 302.7 34.9
176   Limavady Borough Council 303.2   37.4  
177   Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council 304.0   28.2  
178   Poole Borough Council 304.1   39.4  
179   Merseyside WDA (MBC) 305.9   36.9  
180 North Lanarkshire 307.3 45.2
181   Belfast City Council 307.6   31.8  
182 East Lothian 308.0 45.0
183 Derry City Council 318.2 28.8
184   Middlesbrough Borough Council 321.9   22.7  
185 Cornwall Council 324.3 33.8
186   Isle of Wight Council 328.0   31.9  
187   North East Lincolnshire Council 328.5   33.5  
188   Coleraine Borough Council 329.5   39.8  
189 Glasgow 332.3 26.7
190 South Lanarkshire 338.7 36.3
191 Lewisham LB 340.5 17.2
192 Highland 344.0 42.3
193 Angus 350.5 41.0
194   East Dunbartonshire 351.2   37.9  
195 Dundee 351.5 32.0
196 Argyll and Bute 354.7 33.9
197 Moray 358.6 44.0
198 Aberdeenshire 400.0 33.6
199 Orkney 405.1 28.9
200 Dumfries and Galloway 421.8   26.1  
201 Shetland Islands 436.0 17.2
202 Eilean Siar 521.2 24.7
203   Council of the Isles of Scilly 792.3   21.0  

Notes on the data

The league table figures have been derived from audited local authority numbers reported in WasteDataFlow (WDF), or connected figures on the websites of the Northern Irish and Welsh Governments, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

The tonnages for local authorities were taken from reporting for household waste recycling and arisings – in the case of England and Wales, this is based on reporting of National Indicator 192. For Northern Ireland and Scotland, we have worked with these governments’ own reporting of household waste arisings for each council – in the case of Northern Ireland, there is a minor difference with NI192, and Scotland no longer makes NI192 data readily available.

Figures for household waste include materials collected through bring sites, household waste recovery centres (for UAs and WDAs), as well as recorded rejects from primary materials recovery facilities.

The population figures were drawn from final quarter figures submitted to WDF in answer to Question 01. It is worth noting that although the UK population continues to grow, household waste arisings have fallen for six consecutive years.
As is noted in the main feature accompanying this table, the data suffers from a weakness that the amount of commercial waste that is incorporated into the figures varies, and this is typically higher in the devolved administrations. Although we can see an inverse correlation between population density and waste arisings per capita, it does not follow that this reflects the level of actual waste-producing behaviour of people in a local authority.

The figures used are for the year April 2011 to March 2012, with the exception of Scotland, which at the time of going to press had not published waste figures for January-March 2012. For this reason, the Scottish data is drawn from data supplied by SEPA for January-December 2011. It is the Scottish Government’s intention to switch to reporting its waste by calendar year. According to a spokesperson for SEPA, this was to improve comparability with elsewhere in Europe.

As always, we welcome discussion about the best way to compile and report information on local authority performance. Please direct comments to: charles@resource.uk.com

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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?

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There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.