Why Portsmouth recycles below the UK average and what is changing

A much-anticipated materials recovery facility is set to change how Portsmouth households recycle, with hopes it can improve the city’s low recycling rate.

Portsmouth has one of the lowest recycling rates in the country, with only around a quarter of household waste being recycled.

The percentage of waste collected, processed and turned into new materials, rather than sent to landfill or incineration, has remained between 24 and 28 per cent in recent years.

The national average is around 44 per cent.

According to government figures, in the 2024/25 municipal year, Portsmouth City Council collected 70,102 tonnes of household waste, of which 19,307 tonnes was recycled, just over 27.5 per cent.

By comparison, Southampton’s recycling rate is around 28 per cent, Exeter’s is 29 per cent, while the London average is about 33 per cent.

In the same year, Portsmouth ranked 301st out of 321 local authority areas in England. The top performers included South Oxfordshire, Stratford-on-Avon and Milton Keynes.

Portsmouth’s low rate

Part of the reason the city falls behind is the limited range of materials that can currently be processed in standard green recycling bins.

Items such as glass, plastic tubs, pots, trays and cartons cannot currently be collected at the kerbside, with plastic recycling largely limited to bottle shaped plastics.

Residents instead have to take these items to dedicated drop off banks across the city, which can reduce participation.

Portsmouth also has a high number of flats and houses in multiple occupation, many of which lack space for multiple bins.

The city’s large student population, particularly in Southsea, may also contribute to lower recycling rates, as residents move between areas with different recycling rules.

Currently, the city is served by the Portsmouth MRF on Quartremaine Road, which processes newspapers and magazines, card, aluminium and steel food and drink cans, aerosol cans and plastic bottles collected for recycling across the county.

New Material Recovery Facility (MRF)

A joint investment of £50.5m was approved in April last year by Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council to improve recycling services across the region.

The funding will be used to build a new MRF in Eastleigh, upgrade the existing Portsmouth MRF and improve the network of waste transfer stations so they can handle a wider range of materials.

The new Eastleigh MRF is expected to open in 2028. Once operational, it will allow households across Hampshire to recycle more materials from home.

These will include glass bottles and jars, aluminium food trays and foil, plastic tubs, trays and tubes, food and drink cartons, plastic film packaging and plastic bags.

In March, Hampshire County Council announced construction would begin. Cabinet member for universal services, Councillor Kirsty North, said the facility will use modern automated sorting technology, including the potential for robotics and artificial intelligence.

She said the “efficient, modern and truly future-proof facility” will evolve as technology and trends change but “once operational” it will be “central to how we boost recycling rates, reduce our carbon impact, and meet our climate change commitments.”

It comes as the government introduces “simpler recycling reforms” aimed at standardising collections and ending the “postcode lottery” of different bin rules.

The policy requires all local authorities to collect the same core materials, keeping recycling separate from general waste.

A Portsmouth City Council spokesperson said: “We’re always working to increase the city’s recycling rate, which is below the national average but similar to other densely populated cities.

“There’s a range of factors at play, including the high proportion of flats (around a third of the city’s properties), and less garden waste than produced in more rural areas, which is included in recycling figures.

“Changes to the way the whole country recycles are coming and this will enable Portsmouth residents to recycle more household items than they can currently.

“A new ‘twin-stream’ system will mean all Portsmouth, Southampton and Hampshire residents will get two recycling bins instead of just one they have currently; one for paper and cardboard, and one for other recyclables like plastics, metal, glass and cartons.

“This is designed to make recycling simpler and the same for every resident in England, and to increase the amount recycled nationally.

“In Hampshire, this change is being made possible by the new £50m MRF.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Our Simpler Recycling reforms address the concern about different recycling rules across the country by bringing greater consistency and ending the confusion over what goes in each bin.

“This will help keep our streets cleaner, while empowering local authorities to continue to deliver services in the way that works best for their communities.”

They added that if local authorities fail to meet their recycling responsibilities, they could face judicial review, but are ultimately accountable to voters rather than ministers or government departments.

Nicholas Sebley, from Portsmouth Climate Action, said recycling electronics and aluminium is “important” but there needs to be a broader discussion about plastic recycling, of which around half is actually recycled according to government figures.

The other half is either sent to landfill, incinerated or exported abroad.

He added that while recycling is important, it “won’t touch the sides” in the wider context of climate change and global warming.