Everyone has a part to play in reducing waste, Minister insists

Northern Ireland is drowning under the amount of waste it produces, Environment Minister Sammy Wilson warned today.

The Minister told an Institute of Directors lunch in Belfast that while progress had been made in reducing the amount of rubbish going to landfill, everyone from local to central government, the business community and general public, had to play their part.

Mr Wilson said: “Waste is a serious matter. Who can honestly say they have never found themselves struggling for an answer when visitors to these shores notice the careless way people dispose of their waste by littering our countryside, beaches and city streets?

“It is embarrassing to admit, but Northern Ireland is drowning under the weight of the waste it produces. Worse still, many people still regard waste as someone else’s problem.

“We need to change that mindset.”

Under the European Union’s Landfill Directive, the Minister reminded his audience that Northern Ireland’s 26 local councils faced a series of targets and deadlines to reduce the use of landfill.

Failure to meet the targets would result in Northern Ireland facing very severe fines, he warned.

Mr Wilson acknowledged councils had already taken significant steps to address the issue with the formation of three strategic groups – arc21 covering Belfast and the eastern seaboard, the North West Region Waste Management Group and the Southern Waste Management Partnership.

A strong sense of teamwork and a clear can-do attitude was apparent in all the groups, he observed.

The Minister said the Executive was also committed to the delivery of the waste infrastructure project. The Department of the Environment (DOE) had ring-fenced a strategic waste fund worth £200million and was working with other branches of government, including the Waste Programme Delivery Support Unit (PDSU), to meet the targets.

However he said citizens had to do their bit by cutting down on the waste they produce and recycling as much they could.

Mr Wilson said: “Householders and businesses can do more to help us bring about change. We need to stop looking at waste as someone else’s problem or just as something that needs to be disposed of.

“Businesses and consumers can do their bit by careful waste management. Cutting down on or eliminating unnecessary packaging and keeping recycling in mind at all times will have an almost immediate effect.”

Mr Wilson said DOE was aiming to reach every household, business and school to increase public awareness of what they could do to address waste and look after the environment.

He added: “We will also use our waste to create new, sustainable forms of energy generation – an output that has both economic and environmental advantages.

“Not only that but we will also be creating new jobs in the construction and operation of the new facilities. And these are all in addition to the efficiency savings that have been achieved through the partnership approach that links central and local government, the waste management groups, PDSU and a range of other stakeholders.

“The prize is a cleaner, greener Northern Ireland – one that is built on sustainability and on protecting the environment in a way that yields economic benefits.”

Notes to Editors:

For media enquiries please contact DOE Press Office 028 9054 0014 or out of office hours, contact the EIS Duty Press Officer on pager 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.