What happens to your recycling?

Where Hertfordshire's recycling went in 2024-25:

Text version of the map >

77.84% in the UK as a whole.
34.29% in Eastern and Southern England.
17.77% in Asia.
3.59% in EU countries.
0.28% destination not recorded.
0.18% in Africa.
0.06% recycled or reused in Europe (non EU Countries)

Why don't we recycle everything in the UK?

We always try to find a UK market but sometimes there's no demand for a particular material in the UK.

Unfortunately, there isn’t the capacity in the UK to process all of our recyclables without sending some of it abroad.

In those cases, recycling may be processed abroad to get the best prices / lowest costs to tax payers.

Is sending recycling abroad the most environmentally friendly choice?

Yes it still is when we can't recycle a material in the UK. Typically, transporting materials to be recycled only accounts for a small percentage of the overall waste emissions.

How do we know recycling isn't just being dumped abroad?

When a suitable facility is not available in the UK, all exports must comply with the government's Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations.

Our private sector partners have all been audited by the Environment Agency and passed the inspection. Our private sector partners ensure that all materials are sent to a suitably licensed facilities abroad. They also ensure any facility is suitably permitted to accept and appropriately manage the relevant material.

Want to know more about where your recycling goes?

Read our end destinations report 2024-25 (PDF 7.08MB)Join a tour of a waste facility

Food waste turns into electricity

50,000 tonnes of food waste is processed at this site a year
That's turned into enough electricity to power 6,000 average-sized homes.

Green waste turns into compost

9,200 tonnes of green waste is turned into compost a year.
Your green waste will Enfield, Hertsmere and North Hertfordshire

Food and green waste in numbers - read our end destinations report 2024-25 (PDF 7.08MB)

Recycling in Hertfordshire

The district or borough you live in affects exactly where your recycling is taken, but the majority goes to a facility in St Albans.

A significant amount of household recycling (including separately collected newspapers and magazines, steel and aluminium cans, textiles, garden waste and food waste) are processed at recycling plants in the UK, including a number of facilities in Hertfordshire.

What happens to materials at a sorting plant (video)

General waste in Hertfordshire

Non-recyclable waste collected from households in Hertfordshire is delivered either directly to landfill sites or taken to a waste transfer station near Watford. From there, residual waste is largely directed to a number of energy from waste facilities in neighbouring counties and London. The use of such facilities allows both energy to be recovered from residual waste, which contributes towards the UK’s power needs and minimises the use of landfill.

What happens at a landfill site (video)

Energy recovery facility virtual tour - the 15 steps from non-recyclable waste to energy.