Municipal Waste Management Statistics
Municipal Waste Statistics 2005/6
The first estimates for England for 2005/6 were published on 16 November 2006 in Statistical Release 490/06. Small revisions have also been made to 2004/5 estimates.
This is the second year that results are based on information supplied by local authorities in England to WasteDataFlow. For 2005/6, there was a 100 per cent response rate to WasteDataFlow. Minor revisions have also been made to estimates for 2004/5.
In summary the 2005/6 municipal waste statistics for England show a further increase in household recycling and composting (to 26.7 per cent), a decrease in the amount of municipal waste sent to landfill by 1.9 million tonnes to 17.9 million tonnes and a 3 per cent decrease in total municipal waste collected in 2005/6, reducing from 29.6m tonnes to 28.7m tonnes. The reasons behind annual fluctuations in municipal waste arisings are complex and could reflect a range of seasonal and other factors - 2005/6 was a year with below average rainfall (affecting garden wastes) and there was no Easter falling in the 2005/6 financial year, a time when people tend to start DIY and other domestic activities that can influence waste generation. There may also be some movement of waste out of the municipal stream as people change purchasing behaviour or if councils divest themselves of their commercial waste collection services.
The longer term trend is still for waste growth with total municipal waste increasing by 0.5 per cent per annum on average over the last five years. Nevertheless, the rate of waste growth has slowed from that previously recorded - average annual municipal waste growth over the five years to 2001/2 was 3.3 per cent per annum. Results for 2006/7 will provide further useful evidence on whether the trends of recent years are to be sustained.
The tables showing summary estimates, by region, for 2005/6, together with results for earlier years may be found in the Excel workbook for download here
Data for individual local authorities are available in the Excel workbook for download here
Estimates of the different types of material sent for recycling by collection method are available in the Excel workbook for download here
Further Information:
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Page last modified: 26 January 2006
Page published: 16 November 2006