London Recycling Rates: Best and Worst Boroughs Revealed
London recycles 34.4% of waste—far less than the national average of 43.3%—which makes it the worst region in England for recycling. Ministers are under pressure to support EU targets of 55% of household waste recycled by 2025, 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035. London in particular will need a massive push to improve recycling rates.
Best London Boroughs for Recycling
The best five boroughs for recycling in 2021-22 were Bromley, Kingston upon Thames, Ealing, Sutton and Bexley. These areas recycled at least 42.7% of waste, with Bromley topping the charts with a 48.7% recycle rate.
The best areas of London are still far behind other areas of England. For example, there are 7 other councils in England with recycle rates over 60%. The best local authority for recycling household waste in England, Three Rivers District Council, recycled 63.5% of household waste last year. This council already nearly meets the proposed 2035 recycling targets, putting them well ahead of schedule.
Most Improved London Boroughs
In the past three years, Newham as improved their household recycling rate by the most points—it improved from 16.9% in 2019 to 24.8% in 2022, an improvement of 7.9 percentage points. And when looked at on a percentage improvement basis, Newham's rate had the highest percentage increase of 46%.
Barking and Dagenham wasn't far behind, improving their household recycling rate by 6.8 percentage points from 23.7% in 2019 to 30.5% in 2022.
Redbridge, Hounslow and Fulham and Lambeth rounded out the top 5 most improved London boroughs.
| Most Improved | 2019 Household Recycling Rate | 2022 Household Recycling Rate | Better by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newham | 16.9% | 24.8% | 7.9% |
| Barking and Dagenham | 23.7% | 30.5% | 6.8% |
| Redbridge | 24.9% | 30.5% | 5.6% |
| Hounslow | 31.4% | 35.9% | 4.5% |
| Lambeth | 30.1% | 34.5% | 4.4% |
Worst London Boroughs for Recycling
The worst five boroughs in 2021-22 for recycling were Tower Hamlets, Westminster, Wandsworth, Kensington & Chelsea and Newham. These five areas recycled less than a quarter of waste.
With an average rate of 33.8% across London and 10 boroughs reporting recycling rates under 30% for 2021-22, London has a lot of improvement to make to hit recycling targets. To quantify the challenge ahead, London boroughs would, on average, need to gain 2.8 percentage points in terms of household waste that is recycled in each year between now and 2035 to meet a goal of 65% recycled by 2035.
FAQs
Data
Here is the data for London from www.gov.uk used to determine the best and worst local areas for recycling. The list is sorted alphabetically so you can find your local area and see how it ranks and compares to the rest of London and England.
| Rank in London (33=worst) | Rank in England (304 is worst) | Council | Total Household Waste (tonnes) | Tonnes sent for recycling, compost, reuse | % of Household Waste Recycled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 266 | Barking and Dagenham | 85,560 | 26,103 | 30.5% |
| 24 | 273 | Barnet | 144,363 | 43,006 | 29.8% |
| 5 | 141 | Bexley | 90,450 | 38,610 | 42.7% |
| 10 | 199 | Brent | 89,738 | 33,961 | 37.8% |
| 1 | 77 | Bromley | 128,563 | 62,590 | 48.7% |
| 26 | 282 | Camden | 63,001 | 17,679 | 28.1% |
| 17 | 257 | City of London | 3,432 | 1,096 | 31.9% |
| 8 | 192 | Croydon | 140,341 | 54,047 | 38.5% |
| 3 | 87 | Ealing | 87,977 | 41,914 | 47.6% |
| 19 | 265 | Enfield | 109,510 | 33,853 | 30.9% |
| 18 | 259 | Greenwich | 107,383 | 33,821 | 31.5% |
| 25 | 277 | Hackney | 86,863 | 25,266 | 29.1% |
| 28 | 292 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 44,558 | 11,704 | 26.3% |
| 22 | 269 | Haringey | 83,752 | 25,295 | 30.2% |
| 14 | 225 | Harrow | 90,912 | 32,421 | 35.7% |
| 11 | 211 | Havering | 109,978 | 40,299 | 36.6% |
| 9 | 195 | Hillingdon | 107,926 | 41,217 | 38.2% |
| 12 | 222 | Hounslow | 92,438 | 33,151 | 35.9% |
| 23 | 270 | Islington | 58,261 | 17,544 | 30.1% |
| 2 | 80 | Kingston upon Thames | 60,330 | 29,026 | 48.1% |
| 15 | 232 | Lambeth | 71,833 | 24,795 | 34.5% |
| 27 | 285 | Lewisham | 92,194 | 25,068 | 27.2% |
| 6 | 151 | Merton | 71,215 | 29,916 | 42.0% |
| 29 | 296 | Newham | 126,213 | 31,300 | 24.8% |
| 21 | 267 | Redbridge | 102,110 | 31,124 | 30.5% |
| 7 | 167 | Richmond upon Thames | 73,377 | 29,966 | 40.8% |
| 30 | 298 | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea | 47,237 | 10,903 | 23.1% |
| 13 | 224 | Southwark | 111,574 | 39,809 | 35.7% |
| 4 | 124 | Sutton | 71,152 | 31,549 | 44.3% |
| 33 | 303 | Tower Hamlets | 88,273 | 17,403 | 19.7% |
| 16 | 255 | Waltham Forest | 100,835 | 32,277 | 32.0% |
| 31 | 300 | Wandsworth | 99,366 | 22,735 | 22.9% |
| 32 | 302 | Westminster City Council | 73,207 | 15,323 | 20.9% |
| London Average | 33.8% | ||||
| England Average | 42.3% |