The English are officially a bunch of wasters, we use too much and don’t recyle enough.
The most wasteful region is The Isles of Scilly where just 36.3% of household waste was recycled, while 600.6 kg per person was collected.
The study, by Hippowaste.co.uk, analysed 2022-23 data from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. It ranked areas by recycling rates and household waste collected per person.
Middlesbrough ranks second. The council recycled just 23.1% of waste, with 437.6 kg collected per person.
Stockton-on-Tees takes third place. Only 25.2% of waste was recycled, with 415.3 kg per person collected.
The data highlights significant regional differences in waste management practices.
| Rank | Council | Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling, or composting (2022-23) | Collected household waste per person (kg) (2022-23) |
| 1 | Council of the Isles of Scilly | 36.3% | 600.6 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough Borough Council | 23.1% | 437.6 |
| 3 | Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council | 25.2% | 415.3 |
| 4 | Liverpool City Council | 17.9% | 369.6 |
| 5 | Cornwall Council | 34.1% | 457.1 |
| 6 | Gateshead MBC | 31.7% | 431.8 |
| 7 | Northumberland Council | 34.0% | 445.0 |
| 8 | Westminster City Council | 24.6% | 385.9 |
| 9 | Merseyside WDA (MBC) | 34.7% | 446.5 |
| 10 | Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council | 18.0% | 345.5 |
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