Portsmouth Landfill Waste and Recycling Statistics 2025

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Being the second most densely populated city in the UK after London, Portsmouth faces a whole host of difficulties when it comes to waste management. While fly-tipping data and prosecutions often make headlines, Portsmouth's landfill and recycling statistics paint a bigger picture of the city’s waste management efforts.

Here, we delve into all the latest facts and figures surrounding the topic of waste and recycling in Portsmouth.

How much waste does Portsmouth produce?

Our analysis of the most recent government figures, found that in the year ending March 2023:

  • Portsmouth City Council collected 70,364 tonnes of waste. That’s the equivalent weight of 46,909 Nile hippopotamus!
  • 69,820 tonnes of Portsmouth’s waste comes from households.
  • This means that the average person in Portsmouth produces 332kg of household waste per year.
  • The council also collected 544 tonnes of non-household waste.

Portsmouth recycling statistics: How does it compare to other cities?

So, it’s clear that Portsmouth produces a lot of waste. But how does this compare to the rest of the country? Our analysis found that:

  • Of all 343 local authorities in England, Portsmouth City Council are in 316th place when it comes to their recycling rate of household waste, putting them in the lowest 10% of local authorities in the country.
  • Less than a third (27.7%) of household waste in Portsmouth is sent for recycling or composting.
  • This is considerably lower than many other local authorities in England, with the highest being Oxford (61.6%).
  • Nearby areas such as Surrey and Waverley Borough have considerably higher recycling rates (59.3% and 57.8% respectively).

How much of Portsmouth’s rubbish is sent to landfill?

With increased awareness of the environmental impact of landfills, local councils across the UK have been working hard to reduce the amount of waste they send to them. But how does Portsmouth's landfill contribution compare?

  • In the year ending March 2023, 7% of municipal waste in Portsmouth was sent to landfill.
  • Portsmouth City Council says they only send materials that don't fit in the incinerator to landfill.
  • The city’s rate is lower than the national average, with 2% of all local authority waste in England being sent to landfill.

Portsmouth plastic waste statistics

With Portsmouth being a coastal city, it faces a heightened risk of plastic debris entering the Solent and the wider English Channel, posing a threat to biodiversity in the area.

To find out more about the issue, The University of Portsmouth’s Revolution Plastics initiative asked 400 residents about their consumption, purchase, use and disposal habits when it comes to plastic. Their research found:

  • 79% of people in Portsmouth say they’d recycle more if there were more recycling options available.
  • 65% say they don’t know how or where to recycle plastic items.
  • People aged 31 to 50 in Portsmouth, are most likely to visit zero waste shops, with those aged 50+ being less aware of these retailers, and/or less willing to shop at them.
  • However, while under 30s in Portsmouth express higher levels of concern about single-use plastic waste, just 39% say they don’t buy any plastic bags in a typical week.
  • This is compared with 85% of respondents aged 51+.

Other concerning landfill statistics for Portsmouth

It turns out, it’s not just waste currently being sent to landfill in Portsmouth that poses threats to the environment:

  • Approximately 4,400 residential properties in Portsmouth are built on historical landfill sites.
  • Erosion of sites such as Cam Bay and Birdwood Grove, poses a range of environmental and public health risks due to the release of contaminated leachate and debris into sensitive coastal ecosystems.

Looking to the future

Portsmouth City Council plan to become a net zero carbon organisation by 2030, but between now and then a lot more damage is likely to be done due to the sheer output of waste produced in the city.

As helpful as government’s efforts may be, it’s also the public’s responsibility to ensure they’re producing as little waste as possible and ensuring that any they do produced is disposed of sustainably. If you’re looking for a way to dispose of household or commercial waste in an environmentally friendly way – our Portsmouth rubbish removal services are here to help.