Poots welcomes household recycling increase
Thursday, 21 January 2010Environment Minister Edwin Poots today welcomed quarterly figures that show households are now recycling more waste than ever before (39%), exceeding targets for the second consecutive quarter in 2009.
The household recycling targets for April to September 2009 have exceeded the 35% target set for 2010.
Commenting on the results, Minister Poots said: “Recycling is increasingly part of everyday life in households across Northern Ireland. People are rethinking how they treat waste and are clearly considering the impact their waste has on the environment.”
The Northern Ireland Municipal Waste Management Statistics report (Jul – Sept 2009) also indicated that composting accounted for 19%, with recycling making up the other 20% of household waste recycled. The remaining 61% of household waste was sent to landfill sites. Whilst municipal waste sent to landfill was almost 2% less when compared to the same quarter in 2008, there was a 21% decrease in biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) being sent to landfill by councils in Northern Ireland over this same period.
The Minister continued: “The continued reduction in biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill means less landfill gas emissions such as methane being released into our environment. This reduction not only minimizes the long term impact on our surrounding environment but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
“These latest statistics demonstrate the commitment of both local councils and my Department in helping reduce both recyclable and biodegradable municipal waste being sent to landfill sites. We need to keep this momentum going as there is clearly room for more improvement.”
Notes to editors:
1. The Northern Ireland Municipal Waste Management Statistics Report is issued quarterly and in this instance contains a range of waste management data and analyses for the period July 2009 – September 2009.
2. There are seven key performance indicators covered in the 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. Key Performance Indicators (KPI) featured
· KPI (a) 39.3 % of Household waste sent for recycling (inc. composting)
· KPI (b) 60.7 % of Household waste landfilled
· KPI (e) 36.2 % of Municipal waste sent for recycling (inc. composting)
· KPI (f) 63.5 % of Municipal waste landfilled
· KPI (g) 94,595 tonnes of Biodegradable Municipal waste landfilled
· KPI (j) 270.835 tonnes of Municipal waste generated
· KPI (p) 132 kilograms of Household waste generated per person
Electronic copies of the ‘Northern Ireland Waste Management Statistics Report Jul – Sept 2009’ are available in portable document format (.pdf) or by emailing NILAS@doeni.gov.uk
Or by writing to:
NILAS monitoring team
Land & Resource Management Unit
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Klondyke Building
Cromac Avenue
Belfast
BT7 2JA
4. All media enquiries should be directed to the Department of the Environment Press Office on 028 90 540003. Out of office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715440 and your call will be returned.
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