Bristol Landfill Waste and Recycling Statistics 2025

Bristol is known for its abundant green spaces, including parks and walking trails.  This is backed by a 2024 study naming it the greenest city in England. The same study found that Bristol produces the lowest gas emissions in the country, at 6,900 tonnes per km². To put this into perspective, Brighton and Hove – which ranks 2^nd - generates 9,500 tonnes per km² of emissions every year.

Bristol may lead the way in green spaces and low emissions, but how does it do on waste and recycling? In this article, we break down the latest waste and recycling statistics, exploring whether Bristol’s landfill and recycling efforts live up to its eco-friendly reputation.

How much waste does Bristol produce? 

Based on the latest government data ending in March 2023, we found that:

• Bristol City Council collected 192,291 tonnes of waste that year. That’s the same weight as approximately 116,540 hippos.
• 154,352 tonnes of Bristol’s waste is generated from households, meaning that 80% of all rubbish collected was domestic.
• This works out to 322 kg of household waste per person, including both recyclables and non-recyclables.
• On average, 8 kg of black bin household waste was generated per household.
• The remaining 20% of waste (37,929 tonnes) was non-household waste, which includes waste from businesses, factories, litter bins, and fly-tipping.
• This puts Bristol City Council at a similar level to Sheffield City Council (190,223 tonnes) and Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council (188,210 tonnes).

Bristol recycling statistics: How does it compare to other areas in the South West and England?  

Given that Bristol is one of the largest cities in England, how does it compare to other local authorities in the South West and across England?

• With a national ranking of 77^th out of 317 local authorities for recycling, Bristol is in the top 25% and recycles more than most councils in England.
• Comparably, among the 29 local authorities in the South West, Bristol ranks 16^th for recycling and reuse.
• South Gloucestershire Council leads the region, recycling nearly 60% of waste, followed by East Devon District Council and North Somerset Council at 59%.

As seen in the table below, these are the top 20 local authorities in the South West ranked by recycling rates in the year ending March 2023.

How has Bristol’s recycling rate changed over the years?

• In the year ending March 2023, Bristol achieved a recycling rate of 48% which was the same levels seen between 2018 to 2020. This is also ahead of the national average of 41.7%.
• Compared to the previous year ending in March 2022, this rate slightly increased from 45% to 48%.
• Almost in the last decade, rates have remained steady with little fluctuations as seen in the graph below:

How much of Bristol’s rubbish is sent to landfill?  

While Bristol performs well in recycling, an important question remains: how much waste still ends up in landfill? Here’s what the data reveals:

• In the year ending March 2023, only 1.5% (2,834 tonnes) of waste collected by Bristol City Council was sent to landfill.
• To put this into perspective, Bristol is among the cities that send the least amount of waste to landfill — similar to Birmingham City Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, which both sent just 1.2% of their waste to landfill.
• However, instead of landfill, Bristol incinerated 51% (99,093 tonnes) of its waste, including materials rejected for recycling, converting it into electricity as part of its waste-to-energy strategy.

Looking to the future 

According to Bristol City Council, several steps have been taken to increase recycling since their last major implementation in 2018. These include educational campaigns on recycling and waste reduction.

The council is considering replacing recycling vehicles and introducing alternative collection methods by 2027, such as larger sacks for paper and plastic instead of boxes and a combined wheeled bin for various recyclables, including paper, card, plastic, and cans.

The push to improve recycling comes from new government regulations requiring all councils to comply with the Simpler Recycling scheme, which aims to enhance recycling efforts for both businesses and households.

Under the government’s Circular Economy Package policy statement, Bristol is also set to achieve a recycling rate of 65% by 2035.

From the council’s analysis, they found that:

• One quarter of non-recyclable bin waste (black bins) is food waste.
• Furthermore, 13% of black bin waste consists of recyclable materials, including paper, card, and small electricals.

Reducing black bin collections could also lower costs and allow for more investment in improving recycling centres.

What can residents do to boost the council’s recycling and waste reduction goals?

Residents play a key role in improving Bristol’s recycling rates and cutting down on waste. The city council encourages everyone to recycle correctly through campaigns like Waste Nothing and Slim My Waste, which provides recycling guidance and school challenges to reduce black bin use.

This will help reduce wishcycling - the practice of tossing non-recyclable items into the recycling bin in the hope that they’ll be processed. Wishcycling can contaminate recycling loads, leading to more waste being incinerated or sent to landfill instead.

For those struggling with large or complex waste disposal, such as commercial waste or bulky household items, professional Bristol rubbish removal services can step in. These services ensure that items are sorted, disposed of, or recycled efficiently, reducing environmental impact while keeping the process hassle-free.