Local authorities have a big role to play in driving up recycling rates as well as working towards the diversion of biodegradable waste from landfill. With the latest national figures showing a recycling rate for England of about 23%, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is confident that councils will meet an overall recycling target of 25% for the financial year 2005/2006.

On letsrecycle.com we have information concerning the latest achievements by councils, accessed in the left-hand index, and we also have regular coverage of the diversion of biodegradable waste from landfill. This is being driven by targets set under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, through which councils can trade landfill allowances. Variations of the scheme are in use in Wales and Scotland.

Information in this section of letsrecycle.com includes details of LARAC, the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee. Its Scottish counterpart, RAGS, ceased operations in 2006.

There are almost 500 local authorities in England and Wales. In England district authorities usually provide collection services for waste and recycling while counties have a responsibility for waste disposal. These duties are shared by unitary and some metropolitan authorities. Much of London is covered by waste disposal authorities which are similar to county councils in having the disposal function. Similar authorities also operate in Manchester and on Merseyside.

After publication of municipal waste data for 2004/05, Defra noted the
following points:

Municipal waste arisings and management

• The total amount of municipal waste has increased to an estimated 29.7 million tonnes in England in 2004/05 compared to 29.1 million tonnes in 2003/04, an increase of 2.1%. The average annual increase in municipal waste from 2000/01 to 2004/05 was 1.5%.
• In total, 33.0% (9.8 million tonnes) of municipal waste had some sort of value (recycling, composting, energy from waste and fuel manufacture) recovered from it in 2004/05, a rise from 28.0% (8.1 million tonnes) in 2003/04.
• The proportion of municipal waste being recycled or composted increased from 19.0% in 2003/04 to 23.5% in 2004/05. The proportion of waste incinerated with energy recovery has remained roughly constant at around 9%.
• The proportion of municipal waste being disposed of in landfill has continued to decrease from 72% in 2003/04 to 67% in 2004/05.
• The actual tonnage of municipal waste disposed of in landfill has also decreased again from 20.9 million tonnes in 2003/04 to 19.9 million tonnes in 2004/05.

Household waste and recycling

• In 2004/05, household sources accounted for around 86% of municipal waste, 25.7 million tonnes, which equates to around 513 kg of household waste per person per annum.
• The proportion of household waste recycled (including composting) has continued to increase, rising from 17.8% in 2003/04 to 22.5% in 2004/05. This increase of 4.7 percentage points in the recycling rate is a continuation of the increased growth rate of 3.3 percentage points achieved last year.
• In absolute terms the amount of household waste collected for recycling has increased by 27.6%, from 4.5 million tonnes in 2003/04 to 5.8 million tonnes in 2004/05.