Chichester named one of worst locations for sending rubbish to landfill in new study

The global throw-away society is one of the most significant sources of today’s climate crisis. Although businesses and individuals across the country consider waste reduction practises a norm, sustainable waste specialists Envirovue’s new study reveals that there’s still work to be done to improve recycling and reduction rates.

In the UK, the largest contributor to methane emissions from the waste sector is landfill, accounting for 81 per cent of emissions from the sector¹. This highlights the need for businesses and individuals to step up their commitment to the zero-to-landfill movement.

Following this, a study by Envirovue uncovers the top ten locations in the UK that are the worst for sending waste to landfills and would benefit from businesses implementing waste reduction strategies in these places.

The findings are based on insight obtained by Envirovue through Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) sent to 424 UK councils, of which 45 councils responded². The top ten councils that recorded the most landfill waste in the past three years include (2020 to 2022):

Cambridgeshire County Council - 331,765 tonnes

Chichester District Council - 143,195 tonnes

West Sussex County Council - 143,195 tonnes

City of Glasgow - 127,604 tonnes

Leicester City Council - 126,187 tonnes

Surrey County Council - 123,621 tonnes

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council - 123,458 tonnes

Perth & Kinross Council - 117,692 tonnes

Falkirk District Council - 77,065 tonnes

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council - 62,210 tonnes

The study reveals that businesses and individuals in these locations have sent a staggering 1,375,992 tonnes of commercial and household waste to landfill between 2020 and 2022. Of these ten locations, Cambridgeshire County Council takes the top spot for generating the most waste within this period (331, 765 tonnes).

Between 2020 and 2022, Cambridgeshire saw 331,765 tonnes of waste sent to landfill, with an average of 405 tonnes heading to landfill every day in 2022. Worryingly, the council has seen a 17 per cent increase in waste over the three years (105,228 tonnes to 331,765 tonnes). In 2020, the average amount of waste being sent to landfill per day was 287 tonnes, and in 2021, 283 tonnes.

Daniel Redfern, Director at Envirovue, said on the findings: “Under environmental laws, businesses are required to have their waste collected by an Environment Agency registered waste contractor, completing a Waste Transfer Note, which confirms safe disposal, for each load of waste that leaves a businesses premises.

“If the correct procedures are followed, and councils continue to encourage this, businesses can be assured that their waste isn’t being dumped illegally, and councils can be safe in the knowledge that this could prevent fly-tipping too.”

Chichester District Council comes second in Envirovue’s list of the locations contributing a whopping amount of waste to landfill. This location saw 143,195 tonnes of waste sent to landfill sites between 2020 and 2022, and per day, Chichester sees 83 tonnes of waste being thrown into landfill. Although this is a hefty amount, it’s a considerable decrease compared to Cambridgeshire County Council (-71 per cent).