Despite progress in recent years countries across the European Union (EU), including the United Kingdom (UK), are continuing to dispose of significant amounts of valuable recyclable materials to landfill or incineration. This analysis examines this disposal in more depth, in an attempt to provide a reasonable estimate of the amount of different recyclable materials that is lost through landfilling or incineration. The study then estimates the value of these lost materials, and the climate change benefits that could have been gained by recycling these materials.