No city in the UK recycles more of its household waste than Swansea, according to a new study of 94 cities and large towns.
Its 71.7% recycling rate puts the city top for recycling in a green league table compiled by CoworkingCafe, a workspace listings website, which ranks Swansea sixth overall and the best-placed city in Wales.
Cardiff came 10th. Exeter topped the table, ahead of Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Watford and Edinburgh, with Bristol ninth.
| Rank | City |
|---|---|
| 1 | Exeter |
| 2 | Cambridge |
| 3 | Milton Keynes |
| 4 | Watford |
| 5 | Edinburgh |
| 6 | Swansea |
| 7 | Glasgow |
| 8 | Reading |
| 9 | Bristol |
| 10 | Cardiff |
The study puts Swansea’s recycling rate nearly 20 percentage points clear of the best in England, and more than double London’s.
Exeter, which tops the table overall, recycles 36.9%, the study says.
Third in Wales once the counties are counted
The table only compares cities and large towns, and that matters. On the official Welsh Government figures, Swansea was third of Wales’ 22 councils for recycling in 2024/25.
Pembrokeshire led on 73.5%, and Monmouthshire was second on 72.3%. Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire were among four councils tied fourth on 71.4%.
Swansea Council says households recycled more than 76,000 tonnes in that year, and it calls Swansea the best-performing city in Wales.
It isn’t letting up. From this autumn, bin crews will be checking black bags for bottles, cans and food, with a warning first and a fine for anyone who carries on.
Cleaner air than all but two cities, the study says
The study ranks Swansea’s air third-cleanest of the 94, with fine-particle pollution averaging 4.8 micrograms per cubic metre, behind only Dundee and Aberdeen. It credits the bay-side setting and the compact city centre.
That is a very different picture from a study last summer that put Swansea’s air among the UK’s worst, with a 2024 average of 10.3.
The two studies drew on different data, and neither is the council’s own monitoring.
On that, the council says the city’s main roads have been inside the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide for five years, and its official pollution zone is set to be scrapped.
Car chargers are where Swansea drops points
The study found Swansea weaker on cars. Its 146.4 public chargers per 100,000 residents ranked 35th, and its share of eco-friendly cars, 13.1%, ranked 45th.
| Measure | Swansea | Rank (of 94) |
|---|---|---|
| Household recycling | 71.7% | 1st |
| Fine-particle air pollution | 4.8 µg/m³ | 3rd cleanest |
| Overall score | 57.52 out of 100 | 6th |
| Public car chargers | 146.4 per 100,000 people | 35th |
| Eco-friendly car share | 13.1% | 45th |
The council’s own fleet is going electric: it says it now runs 134 battery electric vehicles, with chargers at 18 sites.
The table scores nine measures, weighting carbon emissions per resident most heavily, followed by air quality and the share of jobs in low-emission industries.
Recycling, rooftop solar, access to green space, car chargers, cleaner cars and full-fibre broadband make up the rest.
CoworkingCafe, which compiled the study, is a coworking and flexible office listings site owned by the US property software firm Yardi.
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Powys was over 70% in 24/25 but for years was way ahead of nearly all UK councils. For an area of 2000 square miles their performance is amazing.