What happens to recycling
Thank you for recycling! In 2020/21 we recycled, reused or composted 42.3% of Wiltshire's household waste. Of this, 98% was also managed and reprocessed within the UK and not exported abroad.
Recycling collected from residents in Wiltshire is sent to processors across the UK and Europe to be turned into new products.
The end use register is available online or a full copy can be requested by emailing the Waste team at wasteandrecycling@wiltshire.gov.uk.
Recycle Now videos show how the recycling process works and what happens next to the different materials:
- Cans
- Glass
- Paper
- Collection services
Wiltshire Council supports the Resource Association's End Destinations Recycling Charter. This voluntary code encourages all local authorities to be open about where the waste they collect for recycling goes.
Our end use register contains information showing where all recycling from residents in Wiltshire goes, it can be requested by emailing the Waste team at wasteandrecycling@wiltshire.gov.uk.
- The council works hard to reduce the waste that is sent to landfill
- Recycling is not the only way that we do this
- We have a contract to divert 60,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste per year to Northacre Resource Recovery Centre in Westbury, Wiltshire, which converts non-recyclable waste into a fuel
- We also divert 50,000 tonnes of waste to Lakeside Energy from Waste (EfW) facility in Slough. This converts the waste into energy.
- Wiltshire's confirmed household waste recycling rate for the period 2020/21 is 42.3%. This refers to the proportion of household waste that was collected for recycling, re-use and composting
- Wiltshire Council reports waste and recycling performance. You can download the latest report in the downloads section
- Our contractor, Hills Waste Solutions, manage all of the waste and recycling collected from Wiltshire Council's residents
- Hills regularly review and summarise this and report back annually.
- The Wiltshire Council Household Waste Management Strategy was formally adopted by the Council in November 2019.
