Waste and recycling: every metropolitan borough ranked by spend per resident
35 councils · median £84.61/person · mean £83.08/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wakefield | Ref | — | 367,666 | £53.9m | £146.58 | +73% |
| 2 | Calderdale | Ref | — | 210,929 | £24.3m | £115.25 | +36% |
| 3 | Sunderland | Ref | — | 288,606 | £33.2m | £115.12 | +36% |
| 4 | Leeds | Ref | 845,189 | £94.4m | £111.69 | +32% | |
| 5 | Newcastle upon Tyne | LD | — | 320,605 | £35.1m | £109.64 | +30% |
| 6 | Doncaster | Ref | 319,765 | £34.8m | £108.82 | +29% | |
| 7 | South Tyneside | Ref | — | 151,393 | £16.3m | £107.46 | +27% |
| 8 | Solihull | Con | — | 221,242 | £23.7m | £107.12 | +27% |
| 9 | Sandwell | Ref | — | 353,860 | £37.2m | £105.12 | +24% |
| 10 | Barnsley | Ref | 251,770 | £26.3m | £104.65 | +24% | |
| 11 | North Tyneside | Ref | 215,025 | £22.2m | £103.21 | +22% | |
| 12 | Gateshead | Ref | — | 202,760 | £20.8m | £102.46 | +21% |
| 13 | Sheffield | Ref | 582,493 | £55.0m | £94.46 | +12% | |
| 14 | Rotherham | Lab | 276,595 | £26.1m | £94.35 | +12% | |
| 15 | Bradford | Ref | — | 563,605 | £50.5m | £89.65 | +6% |
| 16 | Kirklees | Ref | — | 447,847 | £40.1m | £89.50 | +6% |
| 17 | Wigan | Ref | 344,922 | £29.6m | £85.94 | +2% | |
| 18 | Walsall | Ref | — | 295,678 | £25.0m | £84.61 | 0% |
| 19 | Manchester | Green | 589,670 | £48.7m | £82.52 | -2% | |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | Ref | 281,251 | £22.2m | £78.87 | -7% | |
| 21 | Liverpool | Lab | 508,961 | £39.3m | £77.27 | -9% | |
| 22 | Coventry | Ref | — | 369,026 | £28.2m | £76.48 | -10% |
| 23 | Dudley | Ref | 331,930 | £24.5m | £73.77 | -13% | |
| 24 | Sefton | Lab | — | 286,281 | £20.0m | £69.94 | -17% |
| 25 | St. Helens | Ref | 188,861 | £11.8m | £62.41 | -26% | |
| 26 | Wirral | Lab | 328,873 | £19.8m | £60.14 | -29% | |
| 27 | Oldham | Ref | 251,560 | £14.5m | £57.77 | -32% | |
| 28 | Stockport | LD | 303,929 | £17.4m | £57.38 | -32% | |
| 29 | Bolton | Ref | 310,085 | £17.7m | £57.11 | -33% | |
| 30 | Rochdale | Ref | 235,561 | £12.8m | £54.17 | -36% | |
| 31 | Trafford | Lab | 241,025 | £11.8m | £49.03 | -42% | |
| 32 | Tameside | Ref | 239,643 | £11.7m | £49.02 | -42% | |
| 33 | Salford | Ref | 294,348 | £13.6m | £46.11 | -46% | |
| 34 | Bury | Lab | 198,921 | £8.1m | £40.64 | -52% | |
| 35 | Knowsley | Ind | 162,565 | £6.5m | £39.71 | -53% |
What this shows. Net revenue expenditure on the waste and recycling bucket from each council’s 2024-25 Revenue Outturn (RO) submission to MHCLG, divided by ONS mid-year population. Higher per-head doesn’t imply waste — it can reflect demographic need (e.g. more older residents), rurality, or policy choice (e.g. retaining in-house services rather than contracting out). Lower per-head doesn’t imply efficiency — some councils have moved costs to fees, grants, or a ringfenced account.
Caveats. Councils under MHCLG suppression for 2024-25 don’t appear here (Birmingham, Slough, Cumberland and others — see their council card for the reason). Comparisons across the tier line don’t make sense, which is why this table is filtered to one council type at a time. Source: MHCLG Local Authority Revenue Expenditure and Financing.