The map that reveals the best and worst recyclers in Greater Manchester

There are huge disparities between what different councils will collect for recycling from people’s homes . How planet-friendly your waste separation is can be a complete postcode lottery, new data from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) reveals.

Less than 42 percent of household waste collected by councils across England was taken for reuse, recycling or composting in 2022/23, according to the statistics. But the recycling rates varied from just under 18 pc in Tower Hamlets - the lowest in the country - to just under 62 pc in South Oxfordshire, which was the highest.

So, how do the boroughs of Greater Manchester fare?

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Overall, Greater Manchester sends just over half of its waste to be recycled, reused or composted. Yet some of the ten district councils are doing a lot more than others to stop their rubbish from winding up in landfill.

Stockport Council is the most enthusiastic recycler of all the boroughs. Almost 60 pc of household waste goes to processing sites, which puts them among the top ten greenest waste managers in England.

Cllr Mark Roberts, Stockport’s climate change and environment boss, said: “Stockport continues to be the number one urban (municipal) authority in the UK for recycling and it is a team effort between ourselves, the collection teams and our residents."

He noted that the borough collected more than 95,000 tonnes of waste from more than one million household bins last year, with the majority being recycled.

But hot on their heels came Trafford council, who recycle more than 58pc of their residents’ bin contents. With the 13th highest waste stat in the country, they belong to the top 20