Which English Councils are Best and Worst at Recycling? Top 10 and Bottom 10 Revealed

The government is now backing a goal of recycling 65% of waste by 2035, matching aggressive EU targets. With the average recycling rate in England sitting at 43.4% across the country (up from 42.3% 2022), there's quite a way to go on a national level. A few councils stand out for having the best recycling rates, but no council is already hitting this target and only five (out of over 300) achieve at least a 60% recycling rate.

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, England households produced 20.4 million tonnes of waste in 2022/23, 8.2 million tonnes of which was sent for recycling. Which councils are doing the best and the worse across England to recycling this staggering amount of waste?

Table of Contents

Best Recycling Rates in England

South Oxfordshire District Council topped the charts in 2022/23 (the latest available data as of February 2026), with a 61.6% household recycling rate.

The Three Rivers District Council (which was#1 the previous year) came 2nd in 2022/23, with a 61.5% recycling rate for household waste.

The next best councils for household recycling in 2022/23 were Vale of White Horse District Council, St Albans City and District Council and Stratford-on-Avon District Council—all achieving household recycling rates meeting or exceeding 60%.

Here are the 12 best local areas in England for household recycling:

Rank of English Councils with Best Recycling RatesTotal Household Waste (tonnes)Tonnes sent for recycling, compost, reuse% of Household Waste Recycled
1South Oxfordshire District Council51,83231,94361.6%
2Three Rivers District Council31,96619,65061.5%
3Vale of White Horse District Council46,81528,48760.9%
4St Albans City and District Council49,75929,91660.1%
5Stratford-on-Avon District Council52,19831,33360.0%
6East Devon District Council46,44827,62859.5%
7Stockport MBC97,71457,97059.3%
8Surrey Heath Borough Council31,48118,65459.3%
9Dorset Council170,081100,55159.1%
10North Somerset Council91,21353,69858.9%
11Rochford District Council33,51819,69158.7%
12South Gloucestershire Council114,71767,22858.6%

Worst Recycling Rates in England

Tower Hamlet (London) and Liverpool City Council have the worst household recycling rates in the country, both sub-18%.

Overall, the 12 worst local authorities for recycling in England all recycle less than 25% of household waste—in fact, the worst councils recycle at less than half the rate of the best 12 councils.

What's the worst region? London. In fact, 5 of the 12 worst councils in England for household recycling fall within London. Overall, London only recycles 34.4% of household waste.

Rank of English Councils with Worst Recycling RatesTotal Household Waste (tonnes)Tonnes sent for recycling, compost, reuse% of Household Waste Recycled
293Westminster City Council81,97620,13524.6%
294Exeter City Council35,9978,82224.5%
295Western Riverside Waste Authority261,10263,40224.3%
296Dartford Borough Council39,3509,26323.5%
297Middlesbrough Borough Council64,89114,99023.1%
298Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea44,46210,25723.1%
299Lewisham LB87,31020,07923.0%
300Birmingham City Council390,05189,25722.9%
301Wandsworth LB93,98721,08222.4%
302Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council23,2784,18118.0%
303Liverpool City Council183,84632,91417.9%
304Tower Hamlets LB93,01016,42417.7%

FAQs

In England, local authority recycling rates range from 17.7% (Tower Hamlets) up to 61.6% (South Oxfordshire District Council). Click to read about the best and worst local areas and find how your council compares.
Recycling rates in Brighton and Hove are low, where only 28.3% of household waste was recycled in 2022/23, ranking the area274 out of 304 local authorities and councils in England (three spots lower than the previous year).
Recycling rates in Bristol are higher than average, with 45.1% of household waste recycled in 2022/23, ranking the area in the top third of the country for recycling (97 out of 304 local authorities and councils in England, an improvement of 10 places in one year).
Only 33.8% of household waste is recycled in London, making it the worst region in England. Click to learn more about London recycling rates.

Data

Here is the data used in this study to determine the best and worst councils for recycling in England, which we sourced from www.gov.uk. The list is sorted alphabetically so you can find your local area and see how it ranks and compares to the rest of England. Note, we have included collection and council data but excluded disposal data, to avoid double counting.

Rank (1=best, 304=worst)CouncilTotal Household Waste (tonnes)Tonnes sent for recycling, compost, reuse% of Household Waste Recycled Rank (1=best, 304=worst)CouncilTotal Household Waste (tonnes)Tonnes sent for recycling, compost, reuse% of Household Waste Recycled
173Adur District Council18083712339.4%
210Allerdale Borough Council390851398435.8%
240Amber Valley Borough Council463611489132.1%
133Arun District Council581832460242.3%
219Ashfield District Council447201564235.0%
53Ashford Borough Council459002339651.0%
234Barking and Dagenham LB795622612432.8%
281Barnet LB1382093777427.3%
101Barnsley MBC992704426044.6%
302Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council23278418118.0%
127Basildon District Council751463235243.1%
269Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council611181796229.4%
283Bassetlaw District Council446201182726.5%
17Bath and North East Somerset Council704684007956.9%
211Bedford717972566035.7%
114Bexley LB834143652743.8%
300Birmingham City Council3900518925722.9%
157Blaby District Council344591400440.6%
267Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council530091570529.6%
96Blackpool Borough Council623522838945.5%
207Bolsover District Council326261173936.0%
62Bolton MBC888444400249.5%
230Boston Borough Council26855893833.3%
81Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council1629917715247.3%
30Bracknell Forest Borough Council462142519154.5%
177Bradford City MDC (MBC)1915007451238.9%
111Braintree District Council603612658844.0%
186Breckland Council513171949638.0%
229Brent LB871922909033.4%
192Brentwood Borough Council279811045737.4%
274Brighton and Hove Council1018022883728.3%
97Bristol City Council1543626956845.1%
58Broadland District Council488122454550.3%
66Bromley LB1209565885848.7%
151Bromsgrove District Council364861502941.2%
132Broxbourne Borough Council324661387842.7%
238Broxtowe Borough Council395991282332.4%
61Buckinghamshire Council22203111004749.6%
247Burnley Borough Council29736936931.5%
43Bury MBC612993221652.6%
85Calderdale MBC790873704246.8%
84Cambridge City and South Cambs Councils1004284714446.9%
276Camden LB554831535627.7%
165Cannock Chase Council373331496140.1%
108Canterbury City Council499522221644.5%
155Carlisle City Council431441760440.8%
87Castle Point Borough Council321131494846.5%
98Central Bedfordshire1261315683345.1%
144Charnwood Borough Council586632437341.5%
52Chelmsford Borough Council658383376551.3%
63Cheltenham Borough Council460352277849.5%
40Cherwell District Council589673111452.8%
48Cheshire East1807559342951.7%
22Cheshire West and Chester1560748809756.4%
147Chesterfield Borough Council385801593341.3%
91Chichester District Council456502085645.7%
89Chorley Borough Council432541991546.0%
266City of London3501104329.8%
34Colchester Borough Council590763162353.5%
203Copeland Borough Council25724934136.3%
224Cornwall2632048972534.1%
18Cotswold District Council371942113656.8%
204Council of the Isles of Scilly149354236.3%
194County Durham2272328429937.1%
258Coventry City Council1198993656730.5%
163Craven District Council20196809440.1%
249Crawley Borough Council339921065931.4%
195Croydon LB1303664834637.1%
56Dacorum Borough Council558542822450.5%
244Darlington Borough Council447191418331.7%
296Dartford Borough Council39350926323.5%
183Derby City Council981923771938.4%
41Derbyshire Dales District Council248741309752.7%
116Doncaster MBC1333325818743.6%
9Dorset Council17008110055159.1%
122Dover District Council410021772743.2%
213Dudley MBC1185604208335.5%
69Ealing LB829704018048.4%
29East Cambridgeshire District Council299631647955.0%
6East Devon District Council464482762859.5%
222East Hampshire District Council390991339634.3%
119East Hertfordshire District Council536332331043.5%
167East Lindsey District Council532002112239.7%
14East Riding of Yorkshire Council1624859485658.4%
181East Staffordshire Borough Council451591742338.6%
175East Suffolk Council932623643739.1%
188Eastbourne Borough Council328421237537.7%
135Eastleigh Borough Council449021893942.2%
112Eden District Council20871919244.0%
35Elmbridge Borough Council524152804953.5%
223Enfield LB1025833505934.2%
49Epping Forest Borough Council517272673251.7%
46Epsom and Ewell Borough Council273791417651.8%
168Erewash Borough Council424381683439.7%
295Exeter City Council35997882224.5%
209Fareham Borough Council352141261235.8%
189Fenland District Council416121567437.7%
102Folkestone and Hythe District Council400391785044.6%
44Forest of Dean District Council334011750852.4%
153Fylde Borough Council320091313641.0%
245Gateshead MBC855942713831.7%
237Gedling Borough Council430701409432.7%
140Gloucester City Council446121865441.8%
282Gosport Borough Council23649644527.3%
159Gravesham Borough Council354921435340.4%
259Great Yarmouth Borough Council374951139730.4%
271Greenwich LB1001912920629.2%
23Guildford Borough Council507132858656.4%
285Hackney LB829882178626.3%
216Halton Borough Council544611925435.4%
68Hambleton District Council344631669048.4%
287Hammersmith and Fulham LB421831083425.7%
117Harborough District Council358501562343.6%
278Haringey LB814362229727.4%
174Harlow District Council281321106339.3%
149Harrogate Borough Council518062137241.3%
264Harrow LB930782792430.0%
138Hart District Council338611418041.9%
263Hartlepool Borough Council369891111630.1%
272Hastings Borough Council29957856228.6%
265Havant Borough Council414301240229.9%
201Havering LB1036033791636.6%
190Herefordshire Council686622583837.6%
126Hertsmere Borough Council371241598443.1%
70High Peak Borough Council337321625648.2%
193Hillingdon LB964293580937.1%
150Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council428511766841.2%
51Horsham District Council525992704451.4%
205Hounslow LB862033123636.2%
37Huntingdonshire District Council652623481753.3%
257Hyndburn Borough Council23678724830.6%
250Ipswich Borough Council500071567831.4%
77Isle of Wight Council550092625847.7%
275Islington LB538041491227.7%
148Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council593212448941.3%
86Kingston-upon-Hull City Council1033664820046.6%
286Kirklees MBC1552254035626.0%
284Knowsley MBC590641555726.3%
252Lambeth LB682242122831.1%
206Lancaster City Council507571836936.2%
220Leeds City Council MBC29982410469234.9%
172Leicester City Council1238894890239.5%
158Lewes District Council333131347340.4%
299Lewisham LB873102007923.0%
109Lichfield District Council394571746744.3%
246Lincoln City Council346411093331.6%
303Liverpool City Council1838463291417.9%
293Luton Borough Council750401868224.9%
65Maidstone Borough Council581372870749.4%
20Maldon District Council239701359856.7%
146Malvern Hills District Council253271046641.3%
178Manchester City Council MBC1615086262138.8%
260Mansfield District Council429671303830.3%
199Medway Borough Council1131834146836.6%
131Melton Borough Council20502878842.9%
130Merton LB686442953143.0%
26Mid Devon District Council274321520555.4%
176Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Council695042708839.0%
141Mid Sussex District Council495102069541.8%
297Middlesbrough Borough Council648911499023.1%
72Milton Keynes Council1157955574648.1%
28Mole Valley District Council321321771355.1%
227New Forest District Council574381950734.0%
221Newark and Sherwood District Council449871545434.4%
90Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council445622040645.8%
289Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council MBC1060072715325.6%
288Newham LB1195653064225.6%
93North Devon District Council368381680145.6%
154North East Derbyshire District Council366611504141.0%
187North East Lincolnshire Council678952572737.9%
27North Hertfordshire District Council453642503955.2%
136North Kesteven District Council452371904042.1%
57North Lincolnshire Council799174020350.3%
124North Norfolk District Council418841806343.1%
137North Northamptonshire1431846020142.0%
10North Somerset Council912135369858.9%
242North Tyneside Council829752657532.0%
197North Warwickshire Borough Council26082964237.0%
128North West Leicestershire District Council392111688043.0%
226Northumberland1453684937534.0%
182Norwich City Council433031668838.5%
291Nottingham City Council1119822812925.1%
215Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council465951649435.4%
171Oadby and Wigston Borough Council17047673139.5%
92Oldham MBC718273275945.6%
67Oxford City Council403421959548.6%
268Pendle Borough Council33059978529.6%
164Peterborough City Council820013286340.1%
239Plymouth City Council1001653227532.2%
277Portsmouth City Council698201932427.7%
256Preston City Council522081601830.7%
64Reading Borough Council530422624449.5%
255Redbridge LB986753039830.8%
261Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council537901626630.2%
279Redditch Borough Council27102742027.4%
31Reigate and Banstead Borough Council525082845654.2%
202Ribble Valley Borough Council23832869436.5%
160Richmond upon Thames LB713932879640.3%
179Richmondshire District Council17950694538.7%
82Rochdale MBC702963309247.1%
11Rochford District Council335181969158.7%
248Rossendale Borough Council24165761331.5%
107Rother District Council370771649944.5%
104Rotherham MBC1029314585144.5%
298Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea444621025723.1%
88Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames549652556646.5%
123Rugby Borough Council380491644143.2%
74Runnymede Borough Council285931369047.9%
95Rushcliffe Borough Council445722030245.5%
142Rushmoor Borough Council307241281641.7%
55Rutland County Council19310982750.9%
125Ryedale District Council22170955743.1%
78Salford City Council MBC791193768047.6%
270Sandwell MBC1202223515129.2%
196Scarborough Borough Council407101506137.0%
233Sefton MBC1080053566933.0%
134Selby District Council383341617042.2%
212Sevenoaks District Council462361642735.5%
243Sheffield City Council1821905821432.0%
45Shropshire1571598188452.1%
292Slough Borough Council494811240225.1%
145Solihull MBC880443652241.5%
24Somerset Waste Partnership24998914086556.3%
118South Derbyshire District Council409301783143.6%
12South Gloucestershire Council1147176722858.6%
100South Hams District Council303791360644.8%
254South Holland District Council350591086731.0%
184South Kesteven District Council523872009938.4%
115South Lakeland District Council438641917143.7%
156South Norfolk Council518222110040.7%
1South Oxfordshire District Council518323194361.6%
94South Ribble Borough Council407871859345.6%
113South Staffordshire Council407871789043.9%
253South Tyneside MBC623361933331.0%
280Southampton City Council867922375627.4%
152Southend-on-Sea Borough Council717912951041.1%
241Southwark LB1062913406232.0%
129Spelthorne Borough Council339241460343.0%
4St Albans City and District Council497592991660.1%
225St Helens MBC629102138034.0%
103Stafford Borough Council512692284444.6%
38Staffordshire Moorlands District Council367931958953.2%
198Stevenage Borough Council299451106837.0%
7Stockport MBC977145797059.3%
290Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council830592089025.2%
228Stoke-on-Trent City Council999903369433.7%
5Stratford-on-Avon District Council521983133360.0%
21Stroud District Council378632142756.6%
262Sunderland City Council1109313345330.2%
8Surrey Heath Borough Council314811865459.3%
120Sutton LB665192877143.3%
162Swale Borough Council531652133440.1%
231Swindon Borough Council870682897833.3%
54Tameside MBC704373585950.9%
217Tamworth Borough Council27674978335.4%
15Tandridge District Council316921833057.8%
33Teignbridge District Council485472611553.8%
71Telford and Wrekin Council838014036948.2%
180Tendring District Council506471955138.6%
191Test Valley Borough Council439951644537.4%
47Tewkesbury Borough Council357241848851.8%
214Thanet District Council491141739135.4%
2Three Rivers District Council319661965061.5%
273Thurrock Council681981941428.5%
76Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council493352357647.8%
185Torbay Council548782099038.2%
42Torridge District Council232611223352.6%
304Tower Hamlets LB930101642417.7%
13Trafford MBC757254424458.4%
75Tunbridge Wells Borough Council405291938647.8%
73Uttlesford District Council323481554748.1%
3Vale of White Horse District Council468152848760.9%
80Wakefield City MDC1505527152947.5%
236Walsall MBC1086693560632.8%
235Waltham Forest LB897472944532.8%
301Wandsworth LB939872108222.4%
110Warrington Borough Council886753919744.2%
36Warwick District Council527362813753.4%
59Watford Borough Council314381578650.2%
16Waverley Borough Council450392603157.8%
99Wealden District Council556782505545.0%
79Welwyn Hatfield Council380411810847.6%
60West Berkshire District Council692843452349.8%
32West Devon Borough Council17938966453.9%
106West Lancashire Borough Council464432066944.5%
169West Lindsey District Council370661466039.6%
105West Northamptonshire1746897775744.5%
19West Oxfordshire District Council418052372656.8%
208West Suffolk Council653722349635.9%
294Westminster City Council819762013524.6%
50Wigan MBC1333246871851.5%
166Wiltshire2078018304840.0%
170Winchester City Council419381656039.5%
83Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council589322773247.1%
251Wirral MBC1172563661131.2%
25Woking Borough Council359102003355.8%
39Wokingham Council657193474352.9%
200Wolverhampton MBC981233593336.6%
218Worcester City Council314501101035.0%
139Worthing Borough Council380231591041.8%
121Wychavon District Council482702087343.2%
161Wyre Borough Council425761716140.3%
232Wyre Forest District Council349531155733.1%
143York City Council790173286141.6%

Comments

NimbleFins Newsletter

Get energy alerts, deals, tips, news, and more!