Press release

Local Authority collected waste for England: annual statistics

Statistics on how household waste has changed in the last year.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Local authority collected waste sent to landfill decreased by 2.7% to 25.6 million tonnes while household waste sent to recycling, composting or reuse increased by 1.3% between 2010/11 and 2011/12.

These statistics are based on data submitted by all local authorities in England to on the waste they collect and manage. http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/category/news/statistical-releases/

Headline results

In this statistical release comparisons are made between the financial years 2010/11 and 2011/12.

  • Household recycling has increased: The proportion of household waste sent for recycling, composting or reuse between April 2011 to March 2012 was 43%, increasing from 41.5% since the financial year 2010/11.
  • Household waste production has decreased: The generation of household waste continued to decrease between 2010/11 and 2011/12 with a 2.4% reduction to 22.9 million tonnes.
  • Waste generation per person has decreased: The weight of household waste generated between April 2011 to March 2012 in England, in kilograms per person, was 431kg per person. Of this total, 185kg was recycled, composted or reused whilst 246kg was not.
  • Local authority collected waste sent to landfill has declined: The tonnage of local authority collected waste being sent to landfill by local authorities has decreased by 2.7% to 25.6 million tonnes between the financial year 2010/11 and 2011/12.
Published 8 November 2012