06 May 2011

England's recycling rate edges above 40%
England's household recycling rate now stands at 40.3% according to Defra's latest quarterly figures.

The figure, which takes into account the proportion of household waste sent for recycling, composting or reuse between October 2009 and September 2010, shows a slight increase up from 39.7% in the previous financial year, April 2009 to March 2010.

The generation of household waste has fallen slightly over the same period, with a 1% reduction to 23.4 million tonnes. The weight of household waste generated in the year October 2009 to September 2010 was 452 kg per person. While 182 kg of that was recycled, composted or reused, 270 kg was not.

Likewise, the amount of municipal waste sent to landfill in England has dropped to 45%, showing a decrease of 5% between the financial year 2009/10 and the year October 2009 to September 2010 to 11.9 million tonnes.

The statistics are based on data submitted by all local authorities in England to WasteDataFlow on the waste they collect and manage. Final estimates for 2010/11 will be published in November 2011.

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