Updated, with new figures for 2022
WfH is the agreed harmonised UK measure used to report household recycling. The UK currently defines ‘household waste’ using the WfH measure. Updated UK figures for 2022 are available as summarised in Table 1 and Figure 1. The recycling figures all include metal recovered and recycled after incineration (incinerator bottom ash metal; IBAm). This methodological change was introduced in the February 2018 release for 2016 data. At an overall UK level this change in methodology raised the recycling rate for 2022 by around 0.9 percentage points (equivalent to 240 thousand tonnes; see dataset. For more details on this change refer to the methodology section. Table 1: Waste from Households, UK and country split, 2015–2022 (thousand tonnes and % rate)
YearMeasureUKEnglandNorthern IrelandScotlandWales 2015Arisings26,67522,2258182,3541,278  Of which recycled11,8659,849344991681  Recycling rate44.5%44.3%42.1%42.1%53.3% 2016Arisings27,30022,7708452,3781,307  Of which recycled12,31810,2173661,018716  Recycling rate45.1%44.9%43.3%42.8%54.8% 2017Arisings26,89722,4378432,3451,271  Of which recycled12,25010,1393901,019702  Recycling rate45.5%45.2%46.3%43.5%55.2% 2018Arisings26,41122,0338412,2921,244  Of which recycled11,8969,840401981673  Recycling rate45.0%44.7%47.7%42.8%54.1% 2019Arisings26,44122,0748422,3031,223  Of which recycled12,17110,0544261,001690  Recycling rate46.0%45.5%50.6%43.5%56.4% 2020Arisings27,00922,5868602,3351,228  Of which recycled12,0089,935422956694  Recycling rate44.5%44.0%49.1%41.0%56.5% 2021Arisings27,65023,1208912,3811,257  Of which recycled12,33710,200432993713  Recycling rate44.6%44.1%48.4%41.7%56.7% 2022Arisings25,69121,4668122,2421,170  Of which recycled11,3309,322400943666  Recycling rate44.1%43.4%49.2%42.1%56.9% Source: WasteDataFlow, Defra Statistics
Notes - Table 1
Figures include IBA metal. Percentages calculated from unrounded figures; breakdowns for individual countries may not exactly sum to UK totals due to rounding. Minor revisions have been made to the Scotland figures for 2013 and 2017 to 2021, due to historical updates for several local authorities. Revisions have been made to the 2020 England figures due to an update to historical data.
Download the data for this table Total UK WfH generation was 25.7 million tonnes in 2022, an decrease of 7.1% from 2021. England is responsible for the vast majority of UK WfH, generating 21.5 million tonnes (84% of the UK total) in 2022 (Table 1). Figure 1: Recycling rate from Waste from Households, UK and country split, 2010–2022 Source: WasteDataFlow, Defra Statistics
Notes - Figure 1
From 2015, these figures include IBA metal (this typically adds up to 0.9 percentage points to the overall UK recycling rate). For Northern Ireland, figures including IBA metal are the same as those excluding IBA metals as no local authority collected municipal waste went directly to incinerators.
Download the data for this figure Figure 1 shows that the UK WfH recycling rate (including IBA metal) was 44.1% in 2022, decreasing from 44.6% in 2021. The recycling rate for waste from households increased in all UK countries except England in 2022. The recycling rate for England was 43.4%, 49.2% in Northern Ireland, 42.1% in Scotland, and 56.9% in Wales. Total WfH generation in England decreased by 1.7 million tonnes (7.2%) in 2022. Residual waste decreased by 0.8 million tonnes (6%), while recycling fell by 0.9 million tonnes (8.6%) in England. Dry weather conditions, in England, affected plant growth reducing the organic contribution to recycling by 0.5 million tonnes (10.8%), while dry recycling declined by 0.4 million tonnes (7.1%). Please see our local authority collected and managed waste statistical notice for more information.