England's household waste recycling rate for the 12 months to December 2009 reached 39.3%, the latest quarterly figures published today (August 5) by the department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) have revealed.
The provisional figures, which are based on information submitted by councils to the WasteDataFlow database for the third quarter of 2009/10 – October to December – represent an increase from the 38.8% figure reported in the department's waste figures for the 12 months to June 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story) and also from the 37.6% rate recorded for the 2008/09 financial year.
Additionally, the figures appear to show that the apparent slowdown in the recycling rate increase which last quarter saw a rolling year increase of just 0.5% has been reversed, with the 39.3% rate for January to December 2009 showing a 1.7% increase from that recorded for April 2008 to March 2009.
The figures also reveal an apparent slowdown in the rate at which waste arisings are falling, with the total amount of municipal waste collected from 27.34 million tonnes to 26.76 million tonnes for the year to end December 2009 compared to the financial year 2008/09 – a decline of 2.1%, whereas figures published this time last year saw an equivalent fall of 3% (see letsrecycle.com story).
With last year's data being seen as evidence of the recession's impact on waste arisings, the figures published today would appear to suggest that the fall in arisings has been affected by a slight improvement in the economic situation, as the UK moved towards officially exiting the recession in January 2010.
Recycling
In terms of recycling, the latest figures show a 38% household waste recycling rate was recorded for the three months October to December 2009. This represented a 4% fall from the 42% achieved in the previous quarter – but Defra figures for previous years mirror this situation, suggesting it is a seasonal fluctuation.
And, when compared to the figures for October to December 2008, the data shows the household waste recycling rate for the quarter actually increased by 2%.
The growth in household recycling rates was mirrored by a growth in municipal waste recycling rates, with a 37% rate recorded for the quarter compared to 35% over the same three months in 2008.
It also came alongside a continued decline in the average residual household waste produced, which fell from 295 kilograms per head of population in 2008/09 to 281kg per head for the year January to December 2009.
Treatment
The figures show a continued decline in the use of landfill, with 12.7 million tonnes of municipal waste disposed of in this way for the year to the end of December 2009, compared to 13.8 million tonnes for the 2008/09 financial year – a 7.5% reduction.
They also reveal a marked increase in the proportion of waste being treated using energy-from-waste incineration, with 16%, or 987,000 tonnes, of municipal waste being treated in this way in October to December 2009 – compared to a steady 12% or 13% recorded across the past three years.
The next set of recycling figures for 2009/10, which will include the final data for the full financial year, are set to be published by Defra on November 4 2010.
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