Recycling rate
65%
Total waste per person
469kg
Residual waste per person
164kg

Recycling service

Swansea provides residents with a fortnightly recycling and waste service, with food waste collected each week.

On 'green' weeks, residents can present the green plastic bags provided by the council – one for cans, and glass, and one for paper and card – as well as the food waste bin, bundled large bits of cardboard and the reusable white bag for garden waste.

On 'pink' weeks, residents can present the pink plastic bags provided by the council for plastic bottles and pots, tubs and trays, as well as the food waste bin.

A bulky household waste collection service is provided on request, with one to three items collected for £20 or four to a maximum of six items collected for £40.

There are three different collection options available to flat blocks – recycling banks, recycling bins, or loose bags in a bin store or at the kerbside – along with either communal or individual food waste bins.

The council collects residual waste fortnightly, with each household allowed to put out three black bags for collection each fortnight.

There are five household waste recycling centres across the county at Llansamlet, Clyne, Garngoch, Penlan and Tir John.

Visit Swansea council website

Household waste recycling centres

Llansamlet Household Waste Recycling Centre

Llansamlet Household Waste Recycling Centre
51.658, -3.91945

Clyne Household Waste Recycling Centre, Sketty

Clyne Household Waste Recycling Centre, Sketty
51.6064, -4.00016

Garngoch Recycling Centre, Gorseinon

Garngoch Recycling Centre, Gorseinon
51.6653, -4.0178

Penlan Household Waste Recycling Centre

Penlan Household Waste Recycling Centre
51.6484, -3.9622

Tir John Recycling Centre, St Thomas

Tir John Recycling Centre, St Thomas
51.625, -3.89812

In total
All materials
74k
tonnes of waste was recycled
Savings
Selected materials
£8m
saved by recycling instead of disposal
Climate change impact
Selected materials
28k
tonnes of CO2 emissions was avoided

Top 5 UK recycling destinations

1
unspecified
Bridgend, Wales
14,416t
Organic Waste
2
CWM Environmental Ltd
Llanegwad, Wales
11,534t
Organic Waste
3
Recresco Ltd
Cwmbran, Wales
7,826t
Glass
4
Neath Abbey Wharf
Blaenhonddan, Wales
5,982t
Rubble and aggregate
5
Palm Paper Ltd
Wiggenhall St Germans, England
4,201t
Paper

Where does Wales’ recycling go?

Top countries (selected materials) 2021/22

Glass

Glass icon

Amount recycled
7,940t
CO2 avoided
5,995t
Estimated disposal saving
£897,262
Reported as exported
0%

Top destinations

Metal

Metal icon

Amount recycled
2,603t
CO2 avoided
6,611t
Estimated disposal saving
£294,114
Reported as exported
0%

Top destinations

Organic Waste

Organic waste icon

Amount recycled
25,985t
CO2 avoided
1,299t
Estimated disposal saving
£2,936,337
Reported as exported
0%

Top destinations

Paper

Paper and cardboard icon

Amount recycled
13,029t
CO2 avoided
7,127t
Estimated disposal saving
£1,472,304
Reported as exported
68%

Top destinations

Plastic

Plastic icon

Amount recycled
3,860t
CO2 avoided
2,069t
Estimated disposal saving
£436,188
Reported as exported
0%

Top destinations

Textiles

Textil icon

Amount recycled
619t
CO2 avoided
3,608t
Estimated disposal saving
£69,951
Reported as exported
0%

Top destinations

WRAP Cymru