Englands recycling rate creeps up to 43.6%

But, although the local authority collected waste statistics show that the recycling rate across the year remains higher than in 2011, data for October to December 2012 appears to show that the overall recycling rate is broadly similar to what it was during the same three month period in 2011- as well as being lower than that recorded in the previous quarter.

The data also shows that proportion of municipal waste treated though energy from waste incineration reached its highest point in the final quarter of 2012, with 1,457,000 tonnes of waste sent for incineration, making up 25% of the overall total- up from 20% in July to September 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story).

This big leap in part is thought to have been caused by an increase in the amount of refuse derived fuel (RDF) being exported overseas for recovery, with facilities in the Netherlands and Germany among the UK’s main markets for the material.

Landfill

Meanwhile, the amount sent to landfill fell, with 2,004,000 tonnes (34%) being disposed of through this route around 250,000 tonnes less than during the same quarter the previous year- but landfill remains the most commonly used disposal route for waste collected in England.

The figures, published on the Departments statistical data website this morning, also appear to show that waste arisings per capita have continued to decline, with a total of 432kg per person generated in 2012, compared to 441kg in 2011.

Key findings from the data:

• Recycling of household waste reached 40.9% between October and December 2012, up less than 1 percentage point from a year previously. The annual rate now stands at 43.6% of household waste being recycled (including, composted and reused).
• 2.004 million tonnes of Local Authority collected waste between October and December 2012 went to landfill, down 4% from a year previously.
• 1.4 million tonnes of Local Authority collected waste between October and December 2012 went for incineration, up 12% from a year previously

Criticism

Findings from the data are likely to be of particular interest to waste management and local authority trade groups including the Environmental Services Association (ESA), Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) and Local Government Technical Advisers Group (TAG), who this week published a joint letter criticising the government for basing its infrastructure funding decisions on outdated waste data.

The groups claim that the government has not considered trends including flattening recycling rates when assessing the UKs ability to meet its 2020 landfill diversion targets (see letsrecycle.com story).

The statistics are based on data submitted by all local authorities in England to the governments WasteDataFlow database. Data for the fourth and final quarter of the year is expected to be published in November 2013.

A full statistical breakdown for recycling rates in England for the period covering October to December 2012 is available on the gov.uk, as well as data for previous quarters.