2026 Recycling Statistics

2025 was the UK’s hottest year on record, and this has made the need to take steps to slow down climate change even more urgent. Sometimes it’s easy to think there’s not much we can do. But something we can do is change how we manage our waste and the planet’s finite resources. The latest recycling statistics from 2025 paint a more positive picture than the headlines suggest, though there’s still more to do. Let’s look at what the 2025 recycling stats taught us about how the UK is slowly but surely shifting its habits.

The State of Recycling

One of the most encouraging recycling statistics of 2025 came from WRAP’s annual Recycling Tracker. According to the survey, 89% of people in the UK say they regularly recycle at home. That’s nearly nine in ten people who are in the habit of sorting their waste each week. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story. WRAP’s research shows that despite our best intentions, many of us aren’t getting it right.

More than three in four people (79%) admit to throwing recyclable materials into their general rubbish bin. On average, we put 2.5 recyclable items per household in with our general waste. That's thousands of tonnes of material that are being lost forever because people aren’t sure what goes where.

And the confusion works both ways. While recyclables end up in our general rubbish bins, non-recyclable items are also ending up in recycling bins. 81% of people surveyed said they have placed at least one non-recyclable item in their recycling. The biggest culprits are drinking glasses, foil pouches, and other items that look recyclable but aren’t accepted in most kerbside systems. Contamination like this can mean an entire batch of recycling is rejected when it gets to the facility.

The survey also shows that it's also a confidence issue. Only 9% of people feel “very confident” about what can and can’t be recycled, while 58% say they’re only “mostly confident.” That uncertainty is made worse by the fact that there are currently more than 400 different collection arrangements in the UK, all with different rules. It’s not surprising that people are often left perplexed by what goes in which bin. Hopefully, the Simpler Recycling rules, due to introduced for households across the UK in March 2026, will bring the consistency people need to feel confident about recycling.

Communication plays a role here as well. Only 37% of people said they received information from their council in the past year about what can and can’t be recycled. Those who did receive guidance reported higher confidence and that they felt their efforts were worthwhile. Campaigns help too. Among those who saw the national “Britain Recycles” campaign, 76% agreed their recycling efforts were worthwhile, compared with 69% of the general population.

Even outside the home, the picture is mixed. Four in five people (81%) haven’t heard about the new Simpler Recycling workplace legislation, and when it comes to recycling on the go, shopping centres and high streets lag behind. Only 20% of those surveyed say they “very often” use recycling facilities in these locations.

Overall, the statistics show that people in the UK care about recycling but are struggling to navigate mixed messages, inconsistent rules, and different collection systems.

State of Recycling Statistics Summary

• 89% of people recycle regularly at home.
• 79% of people admit to throwing recyclable waste in the 
• 81% of people have placed at least one non-recyclable item in thier recycling
• 9% of people are 'very confident' about what can be recycled
• 37% of people received information from their council about what can be recycled

 

2026 Plastic Recycling Statistics

Plastic remains the most talked-about (and problematic) material in the recycling world, and the 2025 figures show why. UK data compiled by National Recycling revealed that only 9% of the 5 million tonnes of plastic used in the UK was successfully recycled. This number illustrates the challenge. Plastics are diverse in their structure, often contaminated (think food debris or labels on bottles), and not all types are economically viable to recycle. However, despite the slightly depressing plastic recycling statistics, the good news is that changes are happening. In 2025, the UK saw a wave of trials, pilots, and retailer-led schemes designed to tackle the hardest-to-recycle materials. One of the most impactful changes has been the rise of supermarket soft-plastic take-back schemes. Major retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Marks & Spencer have all introduced in-store collection points for items such as bread bags, crisp packets, salad film, and other flexible packaging that most kerbside systems still can’t process.

Alongside retailer initiatives, 2025 also saw major trials aimed at solving the problem of recycling hard-to-recycle plastics. Chemical recycling technologies, designed to break plastics back down into their molecular building blocks, continued to gain traction. These processes can handle contaminated or mixed plastics that mechanical recycling can’t. Several UK trials, including partnerships between waste management companies and chemical recyclers, tested new ways of breaking down flexible plastics so they can be turned back into usable material for making new packaging.

Innovation is also happening at the design stage. Retailers such as Marks & Spencer have committed to ensuring 100% of their packaging is recyclable by 2025, pushing suppliers to rethink materials and reduce unnecessary plastic altogether. Making packaging easier to recycle, by stripping out unnecessary layers and using one material instead of several, will make a huge difference over time.

So yes, a 9% recycling rate for plastic is low, but it also shows where change is needed. Progress is happening, but there’s still more to do.

Plastics Recycling Statistics Summary

• 9% of plastic used in the UK was recycled
• 5 Million tonnes of plastic was used in the UK in 2026

 

2026 Paper Recycling Stickers

Paper remains one of the UK’s biggest recycling success stories. According to National Recycling’s 2025 data, the UK uses 12.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard every year. Which makes it all the more important that we stay good at recycling it.

The good news is that paper recycling continues to outperform most other materials. In 2025, the UK successfully recycled 8 million tonnes of paper packaging waste. This matters more than many people realise. Paper is one of the most resource-intensive materials to produce from scratch, and recycling it brings clear environmental benefits. According to My Recycling Wales, recycling just one tonne of paper saves the equivalent of 17 trees, 4,000 kWh of energy, and 7,000 gallons of water. And because paper fibres can be recycled multiple times, the environmental benefits are potentially huge.

The rise in home deliveries has also played a part. Councils across the UK reported that residents recycled more paper and card throughout 2025. This is likely being driven by the continued growth of online shopping and greater public awareness of packaging waste.

Paper Recycling Statistics Summary

• 12.5 Million tonnes of paper was used in the UK in 2026

 

2026 Food Waste Recycling Stickers

The UK generated a whopping 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in 2025. Food waste is a problem on three fronts: it harms the climate, it costs households money, and it often comes down to everyday habits at home.

So it seems fitting that in 2025, the response started from home, with communities stepping up with their own solutions. Surplus food apps grew in popularity, with apps like Too Good to Go going viral thanks to users on Tik Tok unboxing £3 ‘mystery bags’ from Pret and Aldi. The app connects households with discounted bags of unsold food from supermarkets, cafés, and bakeries, helping prevent perfectly edible food from being thrown away.

Local authorities also began preparing for the rollout of weekly food-waste collections, which will become a legal requirement in 2026. DEFRA allocated £88 million to councils to help them roll out the collections.  Wiltshire, Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire, and Tower Hamlets were among the areas that received funding to help improve their food waste collection infrastructure. Others, like South Ribble, invested it in new kitchen caddies and outdoor food-waste bins for every household ahead of the rollout.

Composting at home could be another possible solution, though figures from Business Waste.co.uk show that 97% of UK households have never used a compost heap. Nevertheless, there was some evidence that this is changing. 2025 saw more people experimenting with composting through community garden projects and initiatives like the Big Compost Experiment.

Food Waste Recycling Statistics Summary

• 9.5 Million tonnes of food waste was generated in the UK in 2026
• 97% of households have never used a compost heap

 

E-waste continues to rise, but so does awareness

Our love for tech and gadgets in the UK means we’re the second largest producer of electronic waste per person in Europe. According to 2025 recycling statistics, the UK generated 1.65 million tonnes of e-waste, which works out at 24.5 kg per person. The good news is we aren’t too bad at recycling it. Data from Defra showed that in 2025, the UK met its national Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling target for the second year running by collecting 517,285 tonnes of it.

While e-waste is on the increase, so is the awareness of it being a problem. Repair cafes have become mainstream, especially in cities like Bristol, Manchester, and Edinburgh. They offer free sessions where people can bring broken laptops, kettles, and other gadgets to be fixed rather than thrown away. Many of these groups reported record attendance in 2025 as the cost-of-living crisis pushed people to repair rather than replace.

Tech retailer Currys expanded its repair and refurb business, running one of Europe’s biggest electrical repair centres and processing millions of repairs, returns, and trade-ins. Its “Cash for Trash” scheme also encouraged more customers to swap old devices for vouchers. Refurbished-tech platforms such as Back Market continued to grow too, offering warranties and quality-checked devices that appealed to cost-conscious shoppers.

In 2025, it was the younger customers who were driving this shift. A study commissioned by Vodafone found that Gen Z leads the way in buying refurbished devices, with 40% planning for their next phone to be refurbished and 81% of previous buyers intending to buy refurbished again. Another UK survey found that refurbished phones now make up more than 30% of smartphone sales. A sign that many more of us are now making more sustainable and financially savvy choices when it comes to our tech.

E-Waste Recycling Statistics Summary

• An average of 24.5 kg of E-waste was generated per person in the UK
• 40% expect their next phone will be a refurbished model.

 

Glass recycling holds steady

Glass might not make the headlines everyday like plastic does, but it’s still one of the most reliably recycled materials we use. According to the latest British Glass recycling statistics, the UK currently recycles around 76% of its glass packaging,  making it one of the most consistently recovered materials in the waste stream. The main reason for this is that compared to other materials, glass is simple. It’s infinitely recyclable, widely collected, and easy for us to understand where it goes. This comes with a caveat though. While your bog standard bottles and jars can go in your kerbside recycling, items like Pyrex, drinking glasses, and lightbulbs can’t be recycled at home. Use Recycle Now’s handy online recycling tool to find out how you can recycle these near you.

So what’s next for glass recycling? Will the UK’s deposit return scheme (DRS), launching in 2027, boost recycling rates even further?  The views are mixed. Glass industry groups, including British Glass, warn that including glass in the scheme could actually undermine existing kerbside systems, particularly in Wales, where household glass recycling already exceeds 90%. They argue that DRS glass could be more carbon-intensive and expensive to process than current kerbside collections. It seems that only time will tell.

Glass Recycling Statistics Summary

• 76% of glass packaging was recycled in the UK

 

Overall, the 2025 recycling statistics show that the UK is making progress, even if it’s not as much as we’d like in some areas. England’s household recycling rate has held at around 44% for several years now, but a simpler recycling system and wider food waste collections are coming. These will hopefully help nudge that stubborn figure upwards.

In 2026, the way forward will be building on what’s working and making it easier for people to make better choices every day. The numbers matter, but the choices we make matter more. If you think your household or business recycling could be improved, why not ask our team about our customisable recycling stickers or our improved range of replacement bin signage