Collection cost per household (£)

This is roughly what the council spends each year on bin collections, divided by the number of households it serves — the yearly cost of emptying one home's bins. It matters because collection is a service every household receives, so it is one of the fairest ways to compare councils' waste spending. A low figure suggests efficient collection rounds; a high one can mean expensive contracts, sparse rural rounds, or more generous services (like weekly rather than fortnightly pickups).

What bin collection costs each household served, net of income. It isolates the collection function, making it comparable across collection and unitary authorities regardless of disposal arrangements. Uses Defra-prefilled household counts from the quarterly returns as denominator.