Northern Ireland has recorded its highest ever household waste recycling rate at 51.5% in the three months between July and September 2017.
According to provisional statistics released by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), household waste prepared for reuse, dry recycling and composting increased by over three percentage points for the period July to September 2017.
This is in comparison with the same period in 2016, when the household rate for NI’s local authorities was 48.4%. This is in spite of a decrease in the amount of municipal waste collected by councils in Ireland to 260,353 tonnes, from the 267,578 tonnes collected in July to September 2016.
Map of councils and waste management groups in Northern Ireland
The 51.5% rate has also marginally increased from the 50% recorded during the previous three months – between April and June 2017 (see letsrecycle.com story).
In total, between July and September 133,446 tonnes of LAC – local authority collected – municipal waste was sent for preparing for reuse, dry recycling and composting.
Councils
At council level, Mid & East Antrim has the highest collected recycling rate over the period at 57.5% – an improvement of 8.4 percentage points on the figure recorded in the same quarter last year. This was the largest increase reported in comparison to 2016.
Meanwhile, Causeway Coast & Glens at 45.2% had the lowest recorded rate.
According to a report published by DAERA, the increase reported by Mid & East Antrim “can largely be attributed to an increase in household waste composting which increased by 6.6 percentage points to 38.6%”.
The LAC municipal waste energy recovery rate was 18.4%, similar to the 17.9% reported for July to September 2016. The highest rate was recorded in Newry, Mourne & Down at 50.2% and the lowest was 5.1% in Lisburn & Castlereagh.
The amount of waste sent for landfill has also decreased. The latest quarterly landfill rate for household waste was 29.5%, a reduction on the 33.4% recorded during the same three months of 2016.
The report took results from 11 councils. The 26 councils covered by previous reports were reorganised into 11 new councils from 1 April 2015. This is the tenth release of waste data collected on an 11 council basis.
Mid and East Antrim
When contacted by letsrecycle.com, a spokesperson for Mid and East Antrim borough council said the authority has been working closely with DEFRA and WRAP over the past 12 months. And, the spokesperson said, with the support of householders, recycling rates across the borough have “improved significantly”.
Mid & East Antrim campaigned to get residents to recycle more of their food waste
“Householders recycling more glass and organic waste, such as food waste, have largely caused the increase,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier this year council said it revealed a marketing campaign aimed at substantially reducing the amount of local food waste sent to landfill. Changes to food waste collections came into effect throughout the borough in April, with residents urged to dispose of food waste into brown bins as opposed to black.
“Council promoted the changes widely through the media, its website, collection calendars, our ratepayers magazine Connections and letters to householders,” the spokesperson said. “Council is also re-using the organic waste as compost for its other services in the Borough, like parks and planters to improve biodiversity.”
Commenting on the 8.4% increase in recycling rate in comparison with the same period in 2016, the spokesperson said: “This change is saving ratepayers’ money and also combatting environmental damage. Our citizens are to be commended for their efforts and we thank them for their support to date.”
Related links
DAERA report
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
