Waste Management Freedom of Information data
The most common freedom of information (FOI) questions we get asked on waste management can be found below.
Who operates your refuse and recycling collections?
All refuse and recycling collections are operated in-house.
We do not contract out any of our collection services except for domestic clinical waste collections which are provided on our behalf by Initial Medical.
Waste Data Flow
Waste Data Flow is a website which collects waste data for UK local authorities to government. On the website you will be able to access information which will hopefully answer your FOI requests on the following:
- What is the Councils recycling rate?
- How many tons of kerbside recycling or waste been collected in the last calendar year and/or financial year?
- What kerbside recycling do we collect from households, including garden waste
You will be required to sign up to the website but once registered you will be able to access the information free of charge.
What kerbside recycling do we collect from households?
Please visit the page to find a list of items we collect from households. We also collect garden waste on a 12-month subscription service.
Is the recycling collected commingled or in separate streams?
For more information please visit .
- Paper and card are collected together
- Glass, cans, plastics collected commingled together
- Garden waste collected separately.
What plastics do you collect within the kerbside recycling?
For more information on what plastic we can and can not recycle please visit our page.
Do you collect textiles?
No we do not collect textiles.
For more information on what we can and can not recycle please visit our page.
Do you operate any bring sites?
Preston City Council do not operate any bring sites or recycling centres within the Preston area.
What do you collect at the Household Waste Recycling Centres and how many are there in the Preston area?
Preston City Council do not operate any Household waste and recycling centres, these are run by Lancashire County Council.
We do provide a full list of Household waste and recycling centres and their location, along with the items they collect.
Where do we send our kerbside collected recycling and what income is generated from it?
Preston City Council is only the Waste Collection Authority (WCA) and all recycling is taken to the transfer station where Lancashire County Council as the Waste Disposal Authority (WDA) arrange for its disposal.
We have no say in where the waste and recycling is sent and receive no remuneration from the recycling. Prior to this an amount was reimbursed in the form of recycling credits from Lancashire County Council.
How often is recycling collected?
A standard domestic collection frequency is fortnightly. For more information please visit our Bin collection day and dates.
How often is general waste collected?
The standard domestic collection frequency is fortnightly. For more information please visit our Bin collection day and dates.
Do you collect food waste separately or as part of the recycling?
No, food waste is collected as part of the general household waste.
Do you collect garden waste?
Yes we collect garden waste on a subscription only service. For more information please visit garden waste collection.
Is the garden waste chargeable or free, and if chargeable what is the cost?
Garden waste is a yearly chargeable service. For more information and the cost, please visit the garden waste collection page.
How many properties do you serve?
We currently serve approximately 66,172.
The table below shows domestic properties served by refuse and recycling collections per quarter.
| Quarter 1 (April - June) | Quarter 2 (July - September) | Quarter 3 (October - December) | Quarter 4 (January - March) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 66,293 | 66,710 | 66,884 | 67,553 |
| 2021/22 | 65,379 | 65,575 | 65,807 | 66,172 |
| 2020/21 | 64,536 | 64,797 | 64,946 | 65,161 |
| 2019/20 | 63,986 | 64,161 | 64,297 | 64,429 |
| 2018/19 | 63,028 | 63,253 | 63,432 | 63,828 |
| 2017/18 | 62,350 | 62,554 | 62,787 | 62,979 |
How many missed collections have there been in the last calendar year and financial year?
The tables below show domestic missed collections reported per calendar year. (1 January - 31 December)
| general refuse | recycling (not including garden waste) | garden waste | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1,430 | 1,743 | 524 |
| 2021 | 2,128 | 1,849 | 515 |
| 2020 | 1,966 | 1,734 | 395 |
| 2019 | 1,449 | 1,037 | 437 |
| 2018 | 1,776 | 1,154 | 726 |
| 2017 | 1,592 | 1,017 | 807 |
Domestic Missed Collections Reported - Financial year (1 April - 31 March)
The tables below show domestic missed collections reported per financial year (1 April - 31 March).
| Missed general refuse | Missed recycling (not including garden waste) | Missed garden waste | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,549 | 1,659 | 546 |
| 2021/22 | 1,907 | 1,913 | 510 |
| 2020/21 | 2,118 | 1,765 | 388 |
| 2019/2020 | 1,495 | 1,179 | 409 |
| 2018/2019 | 1,711 | 1,152 | 723 |
| 2017/2018 | 1,743 | 1,038 | 751 |
What is the free collection entitlement per domestic property in the Preston City Council area?
A single domestic dwelling in the Preston City Council area is entitled to the free collection of a 240 litre general waste, 240 litres of paper and card recycling and 240 litres of glass, cans, plastics recycling per fortnight.
This can be increased to a maximum of 360 litres upon application request, if you are recycling correctly and still struggling to fit all your waste in our standard bin.
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) count as a single domestic dwelling and receive the same free entitlement, any extra capacity or increased frequency of collections over and above the standard free entitlement is chargeable.
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