The results are from the period 2002-03, using data released by the Audit Commission in December 2003. The figures are subject to a review once detailed tonnage data is available through the Municipal Waste Management Survey 2002-03, to be published in the summer 2004.

Recycling rates

England 2004/05 England 2003/04 Scotland 2004/05  Scotland 2003/04  Wales 2004/05  Wales 2003/04

The average figure for English local authorities in 2002-03 was just under 15%, up from just under 13% in the previous year. The next national target is to reach 17% household waste recycling by 2003-04.

For the full 2002-03 recycling results click on the links below:

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

The letsrecycle.com top 15 (below) shows the best combined recycling and composting performances for each type of local authority in 2002-03:

	Districts/Boroughs		Counties		Unitaries
Rank		Rate (%)		Rate (%)		Rate (%)
1	Daventry	44.37	Dorset	27.11	Isle of Wight	30.58
2	Lichfield	42.6	Hampshire	25.66	Windsor & Maidenhead	28.54
3	Wyre	33.29	Cambridgeshire	24.32	Bath & NES	26.1
4	Melton	31.31	Buckinghamshire	24.17	Bournemouth	24.5
5	St Edmundsbury	30.07	Essex	23	Wokingham	23.6
6	Forest Heath	28.4	Leicestershire	22.5	Bexley	22
7	Eastleigh	27.9	Devon	22.18	Peterborough	21.89
8	Chiltern	27.13	Suffolk	20.8	Richmond upon Thames	20.5
9	Chester	26.57	Lancashire	20.2	Torbay	20.11
10	East Hampshire	25	Somerset	20.2	Sutton	19.31
11	Wealden	24.72	West Sussex	20.1	Kingston-upon-Thames	19.06
12	Uttlesford	24.47	Oxfordshire	20.07	North Lincolnshire	18.93
13	Oswestry	24	Norfolk	19.68	Rutland	18.89
14	Surrey Heath	24.17	East Sussex	19.68	Poole	18.75
15	New Forest	23	Kent	19.66	Southend-on-Sea	17.92

Data taken from official Audit Commission statistics