Waste that has been put in recycling bins in Reading has ended up being shipped as far as Vietnam more than 6,000 miles away, it has been revealed.

Each year, tonnes of waste is recycled from homes in the town, from cans and paper to electrical items, garden waste, and food.

Now the countries where Reading recycled waste has ended up has been revealed, as well as the sheer amount that has been recycled.

Figures for the total waste recycled by Reading residents over a year has been revealed in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request put forward to Reading Borough Council by this newspaper.

The largest amount of waste in Reading is mixed dry recycling, which is made up of bottles, cans, cardboard and paper.

More than six million kilograms (6,160,260kg) of food waste was also recycled in 2023, and more than four million kilograms (4415640kg) of garden waste collected and recycled as well.

Any recyclables that are rejected are burned during the process, of which the data shows 1.9 million (1,944,420 kg) of rejected recycling from Reading was incinerated.

You can see the figures from the FOI in the table below:

Remarkably, recycled materials from Reading are dispatched to companies throughout the UK and as far away as Vietnam and Asia.

Recycling in Reading Borough, Wokingham Borough, and Bracknell Forest is run by the re3 waste partnership, which runs the materials recycling facility in Smallmead, Whitley.

Each year, re3 posts its Annual Environmental Report which states how much is recycled and where it is used, both in the UK and globally.

Companies that take waste thrown in recycling bins are called 'offtakers'. Re3 has a list of 56 offtakers, of which 50 are based in Great Britain.

The company UPM  uses recycled paper from re3 at its locations in the UK, Germany, and Asia. Meanwhile, VG Recycling takes mixed paper and card for use at its facilities in Vietnam, the Netherlands, and the UK.

You can see destinations for the waste in this map below:

Ekman also takes paper and card to Germany, and the companies WPT and Newport Paper takes these recyclables to The Netherlands.

Referring to the latest re3 report for 2023/24, and reacting to the data, a Reading Borough Council spokesperson said: "To reduce our carbon footprint, we strive to recycle as close to home as possible, with a significant majority of waste being recycled in the UK, including 100 per cent of our plastic.

"Nonetheless, recycling is a global industry, and some materials are inevitably sent abroad, mainly within Europe. We consider this is still a better environmental option than sending waste to landfill or using raw materials to create new products.

"Assurance of the final destination of these materials is provided by the re3 contractor, FCC Environment, which regularly audits the companies processing our recyclables.

"The materials sorted at our facility are transformed into a vast range of products, from kitchen appliances to toys, clothes, and packaging."

The spokesperson added that Reading's recycling rate is 49.8 per cent, above the national average for England of 43.4 per cent.

To limit the amount of rejected waste that gets incinerated, the council has asked that residents are diligent with what they put in their recycling bins.

Reading borough recycles:

  •  Paper, cardboard, newspaper
  •  Plastic bottles, pots, tubs, and trays
  • Aluminium cans and steel tins
  •  Aerosols
  •  Foil and foil trays
  •  Cartons

Reacting to the FOI, councillor Raj Singh (Conservative, Kentwood) leader of his party's group on the council said: "The figures reveal serious concerns about Reading’s waste management.

"Incinerating 1.9 million kilograms of recyclable waste and shipping materials overseas, far as Vietnam, significantly increases our carbon footprint.

"This raises urgent questions about the Labour-run Reading council's true commitment to tackling climate change."