The Isles of Scilly is the most wasteful area in England, a study by eco-friendly rubbish removal company Hippowaste has found.
Research into 2022/23 data from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and based on collected household waste and the amount sent for recycling from the council has revealed the top five most wasteful areas in England.
It found that the Isles of Scilly is England’s most wasteful area, with a total of 36.3% of household waste being sent for reuse, recycling, or composting in 2022-23 by the council.
Hippowaste managing director Gareth Lloyd Jones said: “While areas like the Isles of Scilly and other areas face unique challenges due to geography and infrastructure, the figures remind us that we can all play a role in reducing waste and increasing recycling rates.”
A huge 600.6 kg of household waste was collected per person, giving it the top spot on the list.
Lloyd Jones said: “It’s also interesting to see how much the average person produces in household waste every year, as this is often something that goes unnoticed when simply binning things becomes part of our daily routine.”
Second most wasteful went to Middlesbrough, with the borough council sending just 23.1% of household waste to recycling and the average household waste collected per person being 437.6 kg.
Stockton-on-Tees was in third with 25.2% of household waste going to recycling and 415.3 kg of household waste being collected per person on average.
Taking fourth place on the list is Liverpool with 17.9% of household waste collected and 369.6 kg of household waste collected.
Rounding out the top five is Cornwall. In 2022-23, 34.1% of household waste collected by the council was sent for recycling, with an average of 457.1 kg collected per person.
Jones added: “This research shines a spotlight on the urgent need for all of us to rethink how we handle waste and recycling in our communities.”
The Isles of Scilly Council was contacted for comment.
For more information visit: Hippowaste.co.uk.
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, local authority collected waste management – annual results
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