Local authority league tables 2013/14

Find out more background to these figures in our feature from Resource 79.

Some notes about the data

Inevitably, these figures will be a source of contention, as the compiling of waste data is an exceedingly complex and multifarious activity. Resource welcomes dialogue with any party on how we can improve the accuracy or suitability of the information presented here.

Figures for England and Wales have been taken from WasteDataFlow (WDF). The tonnages we worked with are for household waste arisings and recycling, as reported in National Indicator 192. These include materials collected through bring sites, household waste recycling centres (in the case of UAs and WDAs), as well as recorded rejections from the first MRF that recycling is sent to.

There is still a shortcoming in that the household recycling figures do not discount rejections from secondary and tertiary MRFs, as well as contaminants sent for disposal by reprocessors. Although it is hoped the introduction of Q100 to WDF reporting will provide the opportunity to capture this information, there are still significant obstacles, notably the reporting of contamination in dry recyclables sent for international reprocessing. It remains to be seen whether sampling required by the MF Regulations will provide a reliable way of estimating these figures.

The population figures for all countries have been drawn from the mid-year estimates submitted to WDF. It should be noted that there are signs that total waste arisings in this country may be about to rise as the UK population is continuing to grow, though arisings per capita are still falling, albeit by less than they were. As the UK economy returns to growth, it remains to be seen how much this contributes to a growth in waste arisings as the signs are that the two things remain to some extent linked.

The waste figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are based on figures issued by each government. In the case of Scotland, the figures are for the calendar year 2013. Consequently, we have opted to present this country in its own table, not so much in the spirit of independence, but rather to recognise the lack of comparability.

According to SEPA, the decision to move to calendar year reporting was made to bring Scotland in line with Europe; removing quarterly reporting was intended to reduce the administrative burden on councils. This, according to SEPA, was partly because the amount of data required from Scottish local authorities has increased, including ‘more detailed’ information on the household, commercial and industrial breakdown of waste managed, and information about the final destination of waste recycled.