Residual waste levels in England fell to their lowest point in five years during 2024, according to the latest figures published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The data shows that the estimated total amount of residual waste in England reached 58.4 million tonnes in 2024, down 0.5% from 58.7 million tonnes in 2023 and 9.3% lower than the 64.4 million tonnes recorded in 2019.
Residual waste refers to waste that is not recycled or reused, including material that is too degraded or contaminated for these purposes.
The figures also show a continued decline in the amount of residual waste sent to landfill. Between 2019 and 2024, landfill volumes fell by 16.8%, from 45.5 million tonnes to 37.8 million tonnes. On a per-person basis, this represented a decrease from 808 kilograms to 645 kilograms per person, a fall of 20.1%.
Over the same period, however, the amount of residual waste sent for incineration, including Energy from Waste (EfW), increased by 16.9%, rising from 16.1 million tonnes in 2019 to 18.9 million tonnes in 2024. Per capita, this increased from 287 kilograms to 322 kilograms per person.
Defra’s data also showed that residual waste excluding major mineral wastes totalled 31.4 million tonnes in 2024, down 2.6% from 32.2 million tonnes in 2023 and 3% lower than 32.3 million tonnes in 2019.
Commenting on the figures, David Gudgeon, Head of External Affairs at Reconomy Connect, said: “The continued fall in residual waste to its lowest level in five years is an encouraging sign of progress, particularly as reductions in waste contamination help more materials avoid being lost from the system.
“However, the data also shows a growing reliance on incineration, which, while preferable to landfill, still represents a missed opportunity to retain valuable materials within the circular economy. The recent introduction of mandatory food waste collections for households in England – under Simpler Recycling – will reduce the level of residual waste being sent to either landfill or incineration. There is significant scope to go further in the transition to a circular economy if the Government’s Circular Economy Growth Plan includes a roadmap for textile recycling.
“For businesses, embedding circular strategies is not just an environmental imperative but a commercial one too, helping to reduce residual waste and unlock cost savings, particularly across resource-intensive sectors such as construction.”
