List of Municipal MRFs in the UK: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

This page is an updated working list of municipal Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in the United Kingdom. It has been rebuilt from our original 2013-era list, current MRF reporting sources, regulator guidance, operator information and sector reports.

The original post was useful for its time, but it mixed true municipal dry recyclables MRFs with transfer stations, WEEE sites, RDF/MBT-related facilities, commercial recyclers, reprocessors and historic permit entries. This update uses a narrower definition so that the list is more useful to local authorities, contractors, waste consultants, recyclate buyers, researchers and anyone trying to understand the UK municipal recycling infrastructure network.

Key Takeaways

The Purpose of MRFs

Their purpose is to separate as much waste as possible for recycling from the general mixed waste stream.

MRFs are, in effect, pre-treatment centres for all the nations' council collected mixed residual waste ("black bags"), removing as much as possible from it before whatever is left over is destined for landfill. The EU Landfill Directive's minimum standard for waste pre-treatment is at least met by these facilities.

What Has Been Excluded?

To keep the list meaningful, the following types of facilities have generally been excluded unless there is clear evidence that they also operate as a municipal dry recyclables MRF:

• transfer stations with no confirmed dry recyclables sorting line;
• MBT plants;
• RDF and SRF production plants;
• bulky waste sorting facilities;
• construction and demolition recycling facilities;
• scrap metal yards;
• WEEE-only treatment sites;
• single-material reprocessors such as paper mills, plastics plants or glass facilities;
• commercial-only recycling facilities where no municipal dry recycling role can be confirmed.

This matters because many environmental permits cover more than one activity. A site may be licensed for transfer, treatment, bulking, sorting, RDF preparation, WEEE handling, or single-stream recycling, while only part of the operation relates to municipal dry recyclables. Regulator data is therefore essential, but it must be interpreted carefully.

Why This List Was Hard to Compile

There is no single, simple UK-wide public list that perfectly answers the question: “Which sites are municipal MRFs?” England and Wales use materials-facility sampling and reporting requirements under the environmental permitting regime, while Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.

Current England and Wales guidance requires qualifying permitted facilities to sample waste and report the results to the relevant environmental regulator. Scotland has its own MRF Code requirements for authorised MRFs handling more than 1,000 tonnes of mixed dry recyclable waste per year.

Sector reports have also been helpful in compiling this list, especially the Monksleigh MRF Report 2025, which states that as of December 2023, there were 99 qualifying MRFs in Britain receiving qualifying tonnage, with England representing 78% of reporting MRFs and 87% of tonnage. It also notes that the 2023 dataset does not capture some of the changes expected from 2025 onward as more sites come within the revised materials-facility regime.

How to Read the Confidence Column

• Confirmed: the site is clearly a municipal dry recyclables MRF, a council facility, or has strong public evidence of receiving household dry recyclables.
• Probable: the site appears to meet the definition, but evidence of local authority contracts should ideally be checked before relying on it commercially.
• Needs checking: the site appears in qualifying-material or legacy data, but the name, function or operator profile suggests that it may be a transfer station, mixed waste facility, specialist facility or otherwise only partly within the definition.

Working List of UK Municipal MRFs

The table below is deliberately conservative. The downloadable spreadsheet linked from this article can include additional legacy, unconfirmed and excluded entries for transparency.

How Users Can Improve This List Further

The strongest way to improve the list is to verify each “Probable” and “Needs checking” row against one or more of the following:

• local authority waste destination reports;
• council committee papers and contract award notices;
• operator facility pages;
• Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA or DAERA/NIEA public registers;
• MRF sampling/reporting datasets;
• procurement records for dry mixed recyclables processing contracts.

Facilities such as privately owned commercial MRFs should be added to the main public list only when there is evidence that they receive municipal dry recyclables. For example, a large privately operated MRF near Heathrow, in Greater London or around major urban areas may well accept council material, but it should not be assumed to be a “municipal MRF” without evidence of local authority input or contract work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a municipal MRF?

A municipal MRF is a Materials Recovery Facility that sorts dry recyclable material collected from households or household-like municipal sources. The material may be collected by a council, a council-owned company, or a private contractor working for a local authority.

Is every MRF a municipal MRF?

No. Some MRFs are commercial-only sites, construction and demolition recyclers, bulky waste sorters, RDF/SRF plants, WEEE facilities, plastics sorting plants or single-material reprocessors. These may be important recycling facilities, but they are not automatically municipal dry recyclables MRFs.

Why are some transfer stations included?

Some sites are named as transfer stations but also report qualifying MRF material or contain a sorting line within a wider waste management complex. These entries are marked “Needs checking” unless the municipal sorting role is clear.

Why are some well-known waste companies missing?

This list is facility-based rather than company-based. Large companies such as Biffa, Veolia, SUEZ, FCC, Grundon, ENVA, Renewi and others may operate multiple sites, but each facility still needs to be checked against the municipal dry recyclables definition.

Does a permit number prove that a site is a municipal MRF?

Not by itself. A permit confirms regulatory status and permitted activities, but a single permit can cover several operations. The best evidence combines permit data with MRF reporting data, operator descriptions and local authority contract information.

Why does Northern Ireland need separate treatment?

The main Great Britain MRF reporting datasets normally focus on England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has separate waste licensing and reporting arrangements, so Northern Ireland entries need to be checked against DAERA/NIEA information and operator/council sources.

Can I send corrections?

Yes. Corrections are welcome, especially where you can provide a current council contract reference, regulator register entry, operator page, or waste destination report showing that a facility accepts municipal dry recyclables.

Sources and Further Reading

1. Monksleigh MRF Report 2025: Material Recovery Facilities (Qualifying Materials), Market Overview 2023
2. GOV.UK: Materials facilities waste sampling and reporting guidance for England and Wales
3. NetRegs: Quality recycling at MRFs, including Scotland MRF Code summary
4. Veolia Merseyside and Halton: Materials Recovery Facilities
5. Veolia UK: Materials Recovery Facilities
6. Bryson Recycling: MRF sorting process, Mallusk, Northern Ireland
7. MRF Report February 2024, including Northern Ireland MRF appendix
8. WikiWaste: Qualifying MRFs category / materials facilities reference

Editorial note: This article updates our legacy 2013-era list. The older list remains useful as a seed source, but entries have been reclassified using the narrower municipal dry recyclables definition used above.

Disclaimer: Accuracy and Liability

Important notice: This list of municipal Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) has been prepared for general information, research and industry reference purposes only. It should not be relied upon as a definitive, complete or legally authoritative register of UK MRFs.

MRF ownership, operating contracts, environmental permits, local authority arrangements, facility names and site status can change frequently. Although reasonable care has been taken to compile and update the information from publicly available sources, no warranty is given that the list is complete, current, error-free or suitable for any particular commercial, regulatory, procurement, planning, investment or legal purpose.

The inclusion of a facility in this list does not imply endorsement, approval, regulatory compliance, operational status, or confirmation that the facility currently accepts municipal dry mixed recyclables. Similarly, omission from the list does not imply that a facility is not operating, not permitted, or not involved in municipal recycling.

Readers should independently verify all information before relying on it. This may include checking with the relevant facility operator, local authority, environmental regulator, waste contractor, procurement record, permit register or other official source.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the author and publisher accept no liability for any loss, damage, cost, claim or consequence arising from the use of, reliance on, or interpretation of this list, including but not limited to business decisions, procurement decisions, investment decisions, regulatory submissions, planning assessments, or operational actions.

If you identify an error, omission, outdated entry or facility that should be reviewed, please contact the publisher so that the list can be considered for correction in a future update.

Archival Content:

Materials Recovery Facility Locations - List of Municipal MRFs Operating in England (2013)

[Published 13 April 2018. Updated in May 2026 with a new AI (ChatGPT-assisted) list.]