AS residents are being encouraged to ensure they are vigilantly recycling their waste, your Salisbury & Avon Gazette has looked at the figures behind how much recycling collected in the county was actually sent to landfill instead.

Wiltshire Council boasted an improved recycling rate from 2022 – 2023 to 2023 – 2024, with rates improving from 40% to 43.7%, as the council collected 48,751 tonnes of recycling in 2023-24.

Over the past financial year 2024-25, the council collected “just over” 44,000 tonnes of recycling from households and a total of 89,850 tonnes when including garden waste and materials from household recycling centres

But 4,672 tonnes of household recycling, 10.6%, was rejected and sent to landfill, with a further 6,894 tonnes diverted to energy-from-waste facilities, such as the Northacre waste facility in Westbury.

13.4% of all household waste collected in the county was actually send to landfill – a figure Wiltshire Council said it is “working hard to reduce”.

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“We continue to make steady progress in improving our recycling efforts and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill,” councillor Paul Sample JP, cabinet member for environment, climate and waste, said.

He added: “Over the past three years, kerbside recycling volumes have remained relatively stable, ranging between 44,000 and 46,000 tonnes.

“However, what matters most is not just how much is collected, but how much is actually recycled. That’s why our award-winning ‘Recycling: Let’s Sort It’ campaign is focused on helping residents recycle correctly and reduce contamination in their bins.”

The council is set to launch a food waste recycling service in 2027 – something that is already being carried out in neighbouring Somerset.

To facilitate this, recycling will be collected using existing containers such as bins and reusable sacks as well as new containers provided by Wiltshire Council.

“We understand that many residents are eager for food waste collections to begin sooner,” cllr Sample said.

“While other councils like Somerset have already introduced this service, Wiltshire has long-term contractual obligations that have made early implementation challenging.

“That said, we are now preparing to roll out separate food waste collections from August 2027, in line with new national requirements under the Environment Act 2021.

“Government funding has been confirmed to support this rollout, and we are working to ensure the transition is smooth and effective.

“We remain committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility, and we thank residents for their continued efforts to recycle more and waste less.”