Welsh Recycling Rate Reaches 45%

Wales recycled or composted 45 per cent of its municipal waste between July and September 2010, according to figures released today. The statistical release Municipal Waste Management, July – September 2010 shows that the municipal recycling rate in Wales increased by 4 percentage points on the same period in 2009 with Neath Port Talbot playing its part.

The amount of municipal waste Wales produced decreased from 432,000 thousand tonnes in July – September 2009 to 409,000 thousand tonnes in July – September 2010. The amount of household waste produced per person decreased from 77 kg to 68 kg.

These figures continue the upward trend in recycling in Wales over the past decade. While recycling and composting are traditionally higher during the summer months and decrease in the winter, 45 per cent is the highest quarterly Welsh recycling rate to date.

Gwenda Thomas AM said, ‘These figures illustrate that Wales leads the way in handling waste. Councils, such as Neath Port Talbot, do excellent work, and they must be encouraged to continue working closely together with other local authorities so that they can all feel the economic, social and environmental benefits of high recycling’.

‘Moreover, momentum must not be lost if the goal of recycling 70 per cent of our waste by 2025 and being zero waste by 2050 is to be achieved. Services - such as weekly food waste collections – must be developed to reach this target, and councils, communities, businesses and every home needs to play its part to deliver this target’.

Notes:

Wales is the first country in the UK to adopt statutory recycling targets for municipal waste. The Waste (Wales) Measure – which introduces statutory targets - received Royal Approval in December 2010. The first statutory target will be 52 per cent for 2012 – 2013, rising gradually to 70 per cent by 2025.

Wales is also:

• The only country in the UK where every local authority offers a separate food or food/green waste collection
  
• The first to introduce the Landfill Allowances scheme. Every local authority in Wales has met every target since
  
• The first to introduce carrier bag charges, in October 2011
  
• The first to set out exactly what we will do to reach 70 per cent recycling by 2025
  

The statistical release Municipal Waste Management, July – September 2010 can be found at here under Latest Information.
The Waste (Wales) Measure can be found at on the Welsh Government website