New analysis reveals Aylesbury is England’s 6th least wasteful town

A new study has revealed Aylesbury as the sixth least wasteful town in England.

Only five towns received better marks than Aylesbury, in a new study compiled by Bower Collective, a sustainable-living business.

The study compared how much household waste residents created per person, as well as places recycling rates and fly-tipping rates per capita.

Aylesbury generates 339 kg of household waste per person per year, this figure was 16% below the English average.

Aylesbury has the 12th highest recycling rates, better than 89% of towns and cities in the study.

Aylesbury has seen a 33% decrease in fly-tipping between 2014-15 and 2019-20, a 4% increase in recycling rate in the same period, and a 1% decrease in household waste produced.

Finishing in first was Stroud in Gloucestershire, Colchester was second and Dover in Kent came third.

Nottingham ranks as the most wasteful city in England, followed by South Shields, which was the most wasteful town, Sunderland came third.

The study also reveals the winner for each factor. Halifax has the highest recycling rates, ahead of Stroud and Swindon. Finally, Chelmsford residents have the lowest fly-tipping rates per capita

in the UK, ahead of Cheltenham and Stratford upon Avon. Northampton residents create the least household waste. in the UK, ahead of Colchester and Exeter, with each person generating 107 kg of household waste per year, which is 73% less than the English average.

Comparing the most recent data to 2014-2015, the research also reveals how habits have changed since 2014-2015. London has seen the biggest reduction in generated household waste, with a huge 42% reduction. Other towns showing marked progress are Eastbourne and Portsmouth, who also saw big reductions in household waste.

When it comes to those increasing their recycling efforts the most, Bournemouth has seen a 28% increase and Cambridge saw a 21% increase, which are both far above the third next improved town of Rotherham with 5%.

However, progress can be bumpy, and some towns and cities have seen negative changes. High Wycombe has seen a 48% increase in generated household waste per capita, and Bradford has seen a 21% fall in its recycling rate (the largest reduction in the study) and Huddersfield has seen an incredible 1659% increase in fly tipping.

In fact, only 15 of the 112 towns and cities in the study saw a reduction in household waste over the five years. A survey hosted by Bower Collective found that 98% of respondents said that they would make using less single-use-plastic one of their resolutions for 2022 and one in three admitted that their recycling habits ‘could be better’.