Recycling & disposal guides
"We recycle 100%": how to check a landfill diversion claim
What landfill diversion rates actually measure, the difference between recycling and energy recovery, and the three questions that test any carrier's claim.
- Written by Daniel Hartley, Operations Director & licensed waste carrier
- Reviewed by Priya Raman
- Updated 2026-07-15
Quick answer
How can I verify a company's recycling rate?
Ask which permitted transfer station receives the waste, ask for a recent facility recovery report, and check whether the figure counts energy recovery as recycling. A genuine mixed-waste diversion rate in the UK sits between 85% and 95%; a claimed 100% recycling rate is not achievable.
Reviewed by Daniel Hartley, Operations Director & licensed waste carrier · Last updated 2 August 2026
Key takeaways
- Diversion from landfill is not the same as recycling
- Energy recovery counts as diversion but not as recycling
- Facility recovery reports are the only real evidence
- Our audited figure is 92% diverted, and we will show the reports
Three terms that get blurred deliberately
- Recycling: material is reprocessed into new material
- Energy recovery: material is incinerated to generate electricity or heat
- Landfill diversion: anything that avoids landfill, including both of the above
Why 100% recycling is impossible
Mixed household clearance loads always contain a residual fraction: contaminated textiles, composite materials, POPs-containing seating that must be incinerated by law. A company claiming to recycle every kilogram is either redefining the word or has not looked at its own reports.
The honest version is a diversion figure with the recycling and recovery split shown separately.
The three questions to ask
First, which permitted transfer station do you use? A real answer names a site. Second, can I see your most recent recovery report from that site? Operators receive these routinely. Third, does your figure include energy recovery? An honest carrier says yes and tells you the split.
Any carrier who cannot answer all three is guessing at their own environmental claim.
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