Manchester United top Premier League recycling table as 80% of clubs fall below England average

As the Premier League gets going, Manchester United has already claimed one title before a ball is kicked. New analysis by BagKraft has ranked all 20 Premier League clubs by the household recycling rate and Trafford Council, home to Old Trafford, comes out on top. 

At the opposite end, Liverpool and Everton share last place. Liverpool City Council, which contains both Anfield and Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium, recorded a rate of just 17.9%.

There is a significant 40% gap between the top and bottom of the table, with Trafford's recycling rate more than three times Liverpool's.

Perhaps most strikingly, 16 of the Premier League's 20 clubs – 80% – are based in council areas recycling below the England average of 43.7%.

Premier League recycling table

	Club	Local authority	Recycling rate	YoY change
1	Manchester United	Trafford	57.5%	-0.9pp
2	Hull City	Kingston upon Hull	47.2%	+0.7pp
3	Nottingham Forest	Rushcliffe	45.5%	-1.9pp
4	AFC Bournemouth	Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole	43.9%	-2.3pp
	UK average recycling rate:		43.7%
5	Manchester City	Manchester	38.9%	-0.7pp
6	Leeds United	Leeds	37.3%	+2.0pp
7	Brentford	Hounslow	36.5%	-0.4pp
8	Crystal Palace	Croydon	36.3%	-3.5pp
9	Ipswich Town	Ipswich	33.5%	-0.2pp
10	Arsenal	Islington	32.9%	+2.6pp
11	Coventry City	Coventry	32.0%	-2.2pp
12	Sunderland	Sunderland	31.1%	+1.3pp
=13	Chelsea	Hammersmith & Fulham	30.2%	+2.6pp
=13	Fulham	Hammersmith & Fulham	30.2%	+2.6pp
15	Tottenham Hotspur	Haringey	28.6%	+0.1pp
16	Brighton & Hove Albion	Brighton & Hove	27.7%	+0.3pp
17	Newcastle United	Newcastle upon Tyne	25.9%	+0.1pp
18	Aston Villa	Birmingham	20.3%	-2.4pp
=19	Everton	Liverpool	17.9%	-1.3pp
=19	Liverpool	Liverpool	17.9%	-1.3pp

Just four clubs beat the England average.

If recycling decided Champions League qualification, Manchester United, Hull City, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Manchester City would make the top five.

Just the top four clubs sit above England's 2024/25 average household recycling rate of 43.7%.

At the other end, Liverpool and Everton would both face relegation, alongside Aston Villa. Birmingham City Council's recycling rate of 20.3% was the third lowest in England.

Year on year figures also show which Premier League areas are moving in the right direction.

Islington, home to Arsenal, and Hammersmith & Fulham, home to Chelsea and Fulham, recorded the biggest improvements, both rising 2.6 percentage points.

Leeds improved by 2.0 points and Sunderland by 1.3.

By contrast, Croydon, home to Crystal Palace, recorded the largest fall, dropping 3.5 percentage points, followed by Birmingham (-2.4) and Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (-2.3).

Jon Marling, managing director of BagKraft, commented: ‘A recycling bin is only as good as what goes into it. These figures show a huge gap between different parts of England, but councils and households are only part of the picture.

‘At BagKraft, we see packaging as the starting point. If businesses choose paper bags that are designed to be reused and easily recycled, they can help keep materials in circulation for longer rather than creating unnecessary waste. With 80% of Premier League clubs based in areas below the national recycling average, there is clearly plenty of room to raise the game.’