The tonnages of materials collected from household sources sent for recycling and composting by all local authorities in England, and by each region in the last five years for which figures are available, are shown in the following tables1. This information is also available on the DEFRA website. Tonnages of recyclable materials from non-household sources are not available.
1 ‘Household waste sent for recycling’ includes all materials sent for recycling, composting or reuse by local authorities as well as those collected from household sources by ‘private/voluntary’ organisations. Material which was collected for recycling but actually rejected at collection, by the Material Recycling Facility or at the gate of a recycling reprocessor is excluded. Material diverted from the residual waste stream and accepted for recycling is included.
England 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Paper and card 1,126 1,272 1,406 1,475 1,535 Glass 470 568 670 76C 840 Compost 1,189 1,362 1,960 2,439 2,895 Scrap metals and white goods 419 465 577 532 601 Textiles 54 59 71 86 103 Cans 28 43 52 74 80 Plastics 13 17 21 38 49 Co-mingled 268 469 656 860 1,121 Other 174 266 372 532 751 Total 3,740 4,521 5,785 6,796 7,976
North East North West Yorkshire and the Humber East Midlands West Midlands East London South East South West England Regional breakdown 2006-07 Paper and card 74 233 134 105 190 143 164 264 227 1,535 Glass 39 104 72 79 75 115 69 165 123 840 Compost 96 412 248 328 332 453 199 462 366 2,895 Scrap metals and white goods 22 82 56 57 55 73 48 126 82 601 Textiles 5 15 9 8 9 14 10 18 15 103 Cans 6 11 7 6 8 10 7 7 17 80 Plastics 3 9 4 5 3 5 6 5 10 49 Co-mingled 25 65 58 165 33 224 221 281 49 1,121 Other 73 145 103 47 70 73 53 85 102 751 Total 343 1,077 691 800 777 1,110 776 1,413 992 7,976 Regional breakdown 2005-06 Paper and card 66 216 127 116 174 157 164 243 213 1,475 Glass 33 93 60 72 69 104 69 147 112 760 Compost 94 351 186 279 272 393 173 408 283 2,439 Scrap metals and white goods 20 71 48 47 50 64 48 110 75 532 Textiles 4 12 7 7 9 11 9 16 12 86 Cans 5 10 5 6 8 11 7 6 14 74 Plastics 2 6 3 4 3 5 4 5 7 38 Co-mingled 19 20 49 131 33 172 171 233 32 860 Other 28 128 61 36 48 53 43 57 78 532 Total 271 907 546 698 666 970 687 1,227 825 6,796 England, 2004-051 Paper and card — — — — — — — — — 1,406 Glass — — — — — — — — — 670 Compost — — — — — — — — — 1,960 Scrap metals and white goods — — — — — — — — — 577 Textiles — — — — — — — — — 71 Cans — — — — — — — — — 52 Plastics — — — — — — — — — 21 Co-mingled — — — — — — — — — 656 Other — — — — — — — — — 372 Total — — — — — — — — — 5,785 Regional breakdown 2003-04 Paper and card 58 151 93 100 143 158 161 232 174 1,271 Glass 24 55 40 45 50 80 66 124 85 568 Compost 33 203 115 150 140 204 73 287 155 1,360 Scrap metals and white goods 20 58 37 38 46 57 44 98 65 464 Textiles 3 6 4 5 6 8 8 13 7 58 Cans 3 3 2 3 4 9 4 7 9 43 Plastics 0 2 1 2 1 3 2 2 4 17 Co-mingled 8 19 32 55 9 96 70 171 10 470 Other 18 52 35 32 18 31 17 25 39 265 Total 167 549 358 430 416 646 445 957 548 4,516 Regional breakdown 2002-03 Paper and card 32 140 62 84 123 146 168 225 147 1,126 Glass 11 41 31 35 44 68 58 108 75 470 Compost 15 165 92 124 120 199 65 258 151 1,189 Scrap metals and white goods 15 47 33 35 44 55 39 86 64 419 Textiles 2 5 3 4 5 8 7 14 6 54 Cans 1 2 1 3 2 3 3 7 6 28 Plastics 0 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 3 13 Co-mingled 11 4 27 34 1 44 20 117 9 268 Other 5 41 32 13 10 19 8 17 27 174 Total 90 445 283 336 349 546 367 835 490 3,740 1 No regional breakdown available, due to an insufficient response rate. Source: DEFRA municipal waste statistics.
Where non-hazardous wastes (such as separated recyclables) are exported, they are generally subject only to commercial controls and not to the prior notification and consent procedures which apply to exports of hazardous wastes. Precise data on the amounts and destinations of exported recyclables are not, therefore, available.
However, based on HM Revenue and Customs figures, it is estimated that in 2006 (the last year for which figures are available), the UK exported some 8 million tonnes of metal scrap, 4 million tonnes of paper, 441,000 tonnes of plastic and 136,000 tonnes of glass cullet. These figures will include recyclable materials collected from all sources including households, commerce and industry.