Scotland's household recycling rate slipped to 42.8% in 2025, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) reported, down from 44.3% in 2024 and representing the lowest recorded share in five years.
The figures published by Sepa cover waste collected from households and show a year-on-year decline in the proportion of material diverted from residual waste through recycling. The regulator's release highlights the change in the national aggregate figure but does not include detailed commentary on causes in the summary data.
Recycling rates are closely watched as an indicator of progress towards waste reduction and circular economy ambitions. A fall in the national rate will be scrutinised by local authorities, waste contractors and environmental groups as they assess collection systems, sorting capacity and public participation in recycling schemes.
Sepa's headline numbers are likely to prompt calls for closer analysis of regional and local performance, and for measures to improve capture of recyclable materials at the kerbside and in communal collection points. How individual councils and communities perform can vary widely, and the national figure does not replace local reporting and targets.
Officials and stakeholders will now be monitoring subsequent data and any detailed breakdowns that Sepa may publish to understand which materials and which areas contributed most to the change. In the meantime, the regulator's statistics provide a snapshot of the current national position and a starting point for policymakers and service providers considering next steps to boost recycling rates.