J3: Municipal waste recycling rates
Short Description
This indicator shows changes in municipal waste recycling rates in England. The municipal waste recycling rate is the fraction of household waste and waste similar in nature and composition to household waste, which is recycled. The indicator reflects levels of everyday waste that is recycled and not sent for final disposal. Development of the Defra ‘waste tracking’ tool and further integration with data collected by local authorities will close some of the data gaps and enable collection of more comprehensive data.
Readiness and links to data
This indicator is not available for reporting in 2024 in a finalised form. An interim indicator is presented here that shows trends in ‘household waste and ‘waste from households’ recycling rates’. These waste data are already published annually as National Statistics. Further development is required to include waste that is similar in nature and composition to household waste such as non-household municipal waste. Information is available about the development of Defra’s ‘waste tracking’ tool.
Indicator components
Figure J3: ‘Household waste’ and ‘waste from households’ recycling rates in England, 2000/2001 to 2022/2023
Table J3: ‘Household waste’ and ‘waste from households’ recycling rates in England, 2000/2001 to 2022/2023
| Year | Household waste recycling rate (2000/2001 to 2010/2011) | Waste from households recycling rate (2010/2011 to 2022/2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000/2001 | 11.20 | - |
| 2001/2002 | 12.50 | - |
| 2002/2003 | 14.50 | - |
| 2003/2004 | 17.80 | - |
| 2004/2005 | 22.50 | - |
| 2005/2006 | 26.70 | - |
| 2006/2007 | 30.90 | - |
| 2007/2008 | 34.50 | - |
| 2008/2009 | 37.60 | - |
| 2009/2010 | 39.70 | - |
| 2010/2011 | 41.50 | 41.90 |
| 2011/2012 | - | 43.30 |
| 2012/2013 | - | 43.90 |
| 2013/2014 | - | 44.50 |
| 2014/2015 | - | 44.70 |
| 2015/2016 | - | 44.40 |
| 2016/2017 | - | 45.10 |
| 2017/2018 | - | 44.80 |
| 2018/2019 | - | 45.10 |
| 2019/2020 | - | 45.50 |
| 2020/2021 | - | 43.90 |
| 2021/2022 | - | 44.10 |
| 2022/2023 | - | 43.30 |
Trend description for J3
In the 2022/2023 financial year, the recycling rate for ‘waste from households’ was 43.3%, up 1.4 percentage points on the equivalent figure for 2010/2011 (when the measure was first reported). In the last 3 years, the recycling rate has shown an overall decrease, with the waste from households recycling rate being 2.2 percentage points lower in 2022/2023 than in 2019/2020.
Assessment of change
In 2011, there was a change in the methodology used to produce the municipal waste recycling rates interim indicator. As this was not directly comparable to the previous method, we have only assessed trends using data following the new method.
Little or no change was observed over the short or medium term, however an improvement has been recorded over the long-term assessment period.
Change since 2018 has also been assessed. There has been a decrease in the waste from households recycling rate since 2018 (a deterioration), however this is based on only 5 data points so should be considered as indicative and not evidence of a clear trend.
Further information on this assessment, along with details on the methodology, is provided in the Assessment background page. Summaries by 25 Year Environment Plan goal and information on indicator links are presented in the Assessment results pages.
Table J3: Assessment of change
| Component | Subcomponent | Period | Date range | Percentage change | Smoothing function | Assessment of change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J3 | Waste from households recycling rate | Short term | 2016/2017 to 2021/2022 | -1.80 | Loess | Little or no change |
| J3 | Waste from households recycling rate | Medium term | 2011/2012 to 2021/2022 | 2.05 | Loess | Little or no change |
| J3 | Waste from households recycling rate | Long term | 2010/2011 to 2021/2022 | 4.60 | Loess | Improvement |
Note that assessment categories were assigned based on smoothed data, so percentage change figures in Table J3 may differ from unsmoothed values quoted elsewhere. Percentage change refers to the difference seen between the first and last years in the specified date range.