Recycling rate falls in UK as just 44% of household waste is recycled
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England’s recycling rate decreased in 2022 as rest of UK improved but country still lags behind Europe.
By Helena Horton, Environment Reporter
Just 44% of UK household waste is being recycled, government statistics show, as the recycling rate in England is going down instead of improving.
The UK recycling rate for waste from households was 44.1% in 2022, the latest year the government had data for, down from 44.6% in 2021.
However, that rate is mainly due to England failing to improve its recycling rate (43.4%). It is the only country in the UK that did not improve in 2022. Scotland’s recycling rate was the lowest, at 42.1%, but that was a rise from 41.7% the previous year.
Wales has a recycling rate of 56.9% for a number of reasons: Welsh households have had food waste bins for more than a decade, and it has been a priority for local authorities to improve recycling rates. Some areas in Wales have a recycling rate of 70%. Northern Ireland is also higher than England and Scotland, a...
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