Official 2010/11 Recycling Figures Released Today
3 November 2011
The final results summarising waste collected and managed by local authorities in England in the 12 months from April 2010 to March 2011 have been released today (3 November), based on quarterly data submitted by local authorities to WasteDataFlow
The statistical release compares the financial years April 2009 to March 2010 and April 2010 to March 2011.
Results At A Glance:
• Household recycling has increased The proportion of household waste sent for recycling, composting or reuse between April 2010 to March 2011 in England was 41.2 percent, increasing from 39.7 percent in the year April 2009 and March 2010.
• Household waste production has decreased The generation of household waste continued to decrease between the financial years 2009/10 and 2010/11, with a 0.9 percent reduction to 23.5m tonnes. This continues the slowing in a reduction of household waste since 2007/08.
• Waste generation per person has decreased The weight of household waste generated in the year April 2010 to March 2011 in England, in kilograms per person, was 449 kg per person. Of this total, 185 kg was recycled, composted or reused whilst 264 kg 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 8.8 percent between the financial years 2009/10 and 2010/11 to 111.4 m tonnes. This continues the decrease of tonnes sent to landfill since 2002/03, however the decrease has been slowing since 2008/09.
Local Authority Data
• The total amount of local authority collected waste generated has decreased by 1.3 percent to 26.2 m tonnes between the financial years 2009/10 and 2010/11. This continues the reduction seen since 2007/08.
• The proportion of local authority collected waste being recycled, composted or reused continued the long term trend by increasing to 40.1 percent between the years 2009/10 and 2010/11.
• The proportion of local authority collected waste disposed of into landfill in 2010/11 was 43.4 percent. Over the last 10 years local authority collected waste sent to landfill has decreased from 78 percent of generation in 2001/02. In 2010/11 England sent just under half (49 percent) the tonnage of waste to landfill compared to 2001/02.
The amount of household waste generated per person per year in kilograms in the financial year 2010/11 was 449 kg, of which 185 kg was recycled and 264 kg was not recycled. This continues the trend since 1983 when our records began of recycling per person increasing year on year, however, total household waste generated per person has only been falling year on year since 2006/07.
In 2010/11, household sources accounted for 89.5 percent of local authority collected waste generation.
These statistics are final. The next statistics release will be for Quarter 1 of 2011/12. These will be released in February 2012.
Annual local authority level data up to 2010/11, a statistical summary note and information on local authority waste policies and the Waste Review are also available. Additional analyses can also be produced via the reporting tool on the WasteDataFlow website.
Darrel Moore
For full statistical report visit http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/2011/11/03/local-authority-collected-waste-2010-11-figures-published/
