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SWANSEA: No UK city recycles more, new green league table shows

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.

RankCity1Exeter2Cambridge3Milton Keynes4Watford5Edinburgh6Swansea7Glasgow8Reading9Bristol10CardiffThe top 10 greenest cities. Source: CoworkingCafe green cities study

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.

Swansea’s recycling rate against other UK cities in the study (Image: Swansea Bay News)

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 was third of Wales’ 22 councils for recycling in 2024/25 (Image: Swansea Bay News)

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.

MeasureSwanseaRank (of 94)Household recycling71.7%1stFine-particle air pollution4.8 µg/m³3rd cleanestOverall score57.52 out of 1006thPublic car chargers146.4 per 100,000 people35thEco-friendly car share13.1%45thHow Swansea scored. Source: CoworkingCafe green cities study

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.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

CLINK OR STINK: Swansea bin crews will be checking your black bags from this autumn
Warnings, then fines, for bottles, cans and food in the black bag.

Swansea storms into third place as Wales smashes recycling records
The full 2024/25 council table.

CLEAN AIR: Swansea’s official pollution zone set to be scrapped after 25 years
Five years inside the legal limit on Neath Road, Sketty and Fforestfach.

SWANSEA: Council’s electric fleet grows to 134 vehicles
Where the council’s climate plans stand.

More on recycling
Every recycling story in one place.

#airPollution #Recycling #SwanseaCouncil

MUMBLES: Businessman’s alternative padel plan would use £400,000 of his own money, so the council doesn’t have to

A businessman with family in Mumbles has offered to spend £400,000 of his own money turning the old seafront tennis courts into four padel courts.

Rico Maza wants a long lease on the site in return, with Swansea Council keeping the land and collecting the rent.

It is an alternative to the council’s own plans for three courts and a car park on Mumbles Gardens, the site between the Oyster House and Oystermouth Bowls Club.

Mumbles Action Group set out a rival vision on Saturday, with a lido and games court instead of the car park.

Mr Maza says he has written to the council and local councillors. “I’ve not heard anything back from the council or councillors,” he said.

£400,000 padel offer: four floodlit courts and pay-and-play

He would build four enclosed glass and mesh courts to Lawn Tennis Association standards, floodlit for evening games, with online booking and pay-and-play.

There would be coaching, leagues and junior sessions, he says, and cheaper off-peak rates for local residents.

The £400,000 would pay for the courts, glass, lighting, surfacing and installation. Maintenance, insurance and the day-to-day running would be his responsibility for the length of the lease.

Under his offer, he says, the council “keeps ownership of the land, receives a rental income, and has no capital outlay or ongoing maintenance and operating responsibilities”.

Only a few parking spaces would be needed, he says.

Tree planting to screen Mumbles Road neighbours from noise and light

Mr Maza accepts the courts are close to homes. Roadside trees and landscaping would screen sound and light, he says, and the floodlights would be angled to limit light spill.

Who is Rico Maza?

Rico Maza (Image: Rico Maza)

He says he has spent many years running council sports facilities and park catering sites around London and Essex.

He is moving to Mumbles, where his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter live. His daughter-in-law’s family “have lived there all their lives”, he said.

A Lawn Tennis Association member and a club tennis player “for a lifetime”, he is new to padel himself. “I’m new to paddle tennis, but the excitement it brings is unmatched,” he said.

He would bring in “one or two of the best paddle coaches available”, teaching everyone from “complete beginners like myself” to players who want to compete at a higher level.

Getting the coaching right from day one matters, he said: “Building a high-quality coaching program from the outset would help establish the facility as a genuine centre for developing the sport.”

‘I would also be interested in running the paddle tennis facility for the council’

If the council presses on with its own three courts, Mr Maza says he would like to run them.

He thinks it would save the council money in the long run. “In my opinion the council work with the best intentions, but the cost of delivering and operating projects can sometimes increase considerably over time,” he said.

He accepts the council “has its own plans in motion”, and says he would welcome a meeting with its property, regeneration and leisure teams.

The council’s plan: three courts and the car park back

The council’s own application has no cost, no opening date and no word yet on who would run the courts or what a game would cost.

It asked Mumbles in January last year what should replace the tennis courts, and says padel was the sport most people named.

Cllr Andrew Stevens, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, said the plans showed “we have listened carefully to what our communities want”.

Some residents commenting online have questioned giving part of the site over to parking, while others welcomed padel as a sport that is easier to pick up than tennis.

Leasing out tennis courts would not be new for the council. Last year it offered three under-used courts at Langland for redevelopment on a long lease.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

MUMBLES: Campaign group’s alternative plan for the old tennis courts swaps the car park for a lido
Mumbles Action Group’s rival vision for the site.

MUMBLES: Padel courts to replace the old seafront tennis courts, and the car park is coming back
The council’s own plan for three courts and a car park.

Langland Bay tennis court site may be redeveloped to include new leisure facilities
The council’s offer of three Langland courts on a long lease.

More Mumbles news

#CllrAndrewStevens #featured #homepage #LanglandBay #Mumbles #MumblesActionGroup #MumblesGardens #PadelCourt #RicoMaza #SwanseaCouncil