The results are from the period 2003/04, using data collated by the Audit Commission and released by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in January 2005. The figures are subject to a review once detailed tonnage data is available through the Municipal Waste Management Survey 2003/04, to be published later in 2005.

UK recycling rates:

England: England 2007/08 England 2006/07 England 2005/06 England 2004/05 England 2003/04 England 2002/03

To see the letsrecycle.com top 15, showing the best 15 councils for recycling of each type, see the bottom of this page. For the full 2003/04 recycling results for English councils, click on these links:

• English local authorities ranked by recycling & composting performance
• English local authorities listed in alphabetical order

The year's results suggest that England met its 17% national recycling target for 2003/04, but with 167 English councils failing to achieve their 2003/04 targets, could mean the national 25% recycling target for 2005/06 will be difficult.

The letsrecycle.com top 15 (below) shows the best combined recycling and composting performances for each type of local authority in 2003/04:

Data taken from ODPM statistics