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Environment Minister welcomes decrease in collected Household & Municipal waste

Environment Minister Alex Attwood today welcomed figures which show that both Household and Municipal waste collected by Councils in July – September 2011 fell by almost 5% compared to last year.
~ Thursday, 19 January 2012

This helped both the household and municipal recycling rates climb to almost 43% (up almost 1 percentage point) and 42% (up almost 2 percentage points) respectively compared to the same period last year. These recycling figures contain biodegradable material recovered via composting which is at its seasonal peak during this Summer period.

The amount of both Household and Municipal waste sent to landfill also decreased by circa 10% compared to the same period last year. This means that during July to September 2011 just over 54% of household and almost 56% of municipal waste was sent to landfill.

Mr Attwood said: “Not only is it common sense to minimise the amount of waste we produce to allow our Councils to spend more money where it’s needed most but from an environmental view less waste means less impact. Whilst the phrase Reduce Reuse Recycle has been around for many years now, it is the foundation of my Department’s Rethink Waste campaign. I am also pleased to note the continuing increase in both the recycling rates and the decrease in waste sent to landfill and want to thank all those who are doing their bit. Together we will make a difference. The challenge for NI is : can we become a world leader in carbon reduction? Do we have the capacity to take our "clean and green" reputation to a new level? This is where we can go and this is where we should go. Today’s figures give added impetus”.

As part of Programme For Government, DOE is committed to decreasing municipal waste.

Further detailed information on practical suggestions and what more you can do are available at the Rethink Waste NI website.

Notes to editors:

  1. This is the tenth annual Northern Ireland Municipal Waste Management Statistics Reports and the second for the financial year 2010-11.
  2. There are nine indicators covered in the Municipal Waste Management Statistics report, covering municipal waste, household waste and biodegradable municipal waste. The indicators have been calculated from the WasteDataFlow (WDF) system, which is used by all UK local authorities to report municipal waste.
  3. Electronic copies of both reports are available at the DOE website.
  4. All media enquiries should be directed to the DOE Communications on 028 90 256058. Out of office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715440 and your call will be returned.