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Northern Ireland hits 43% quarterly recycling rate

Northern Ireland achieved a 42.8% household waste recycling and composting rate for the second quarter of 2011/12 financial year, an increase of less than one percentage point compared to the same period the previous year.

The latest provisional figures released by the Department of Environment also show that 119,760 tonnes of Northern Irelands household waste were sent to landfill between July and September 2011/12, representing 54% of the total household waste collected. The remainder was recovered for reuse.

Environment minister Alex Attwood welcomed the figures showing an increase in NIs recycling rate
Environment minister Alex Attwood welcomed the figures showing an increase in NIs recycling rate

The 54% sent to landfill represents a 2.8 percentage point decrease, from 57.1% for the second quarter in 2010/11.

The amount of municipal waste arising – waste that is under the control of or possession of the district council – saw a 4.4 percentage point decrease between July and September 2011/12. A 1.7 percentage point increase in the amount of municipal waste being recycled or composted was also reported as 41.6% figure for the quarter.

Household waste accounts for 88% of municipal waste collected in Northern Ireland.

Magherafelt district council broke the 60% recycling barrier for the second quarter of 2011/12 achieving a recycling rate of 62.3%. Meanwhile Belfast continued to lag behind with a recycling rate of just 27.2% for the same period.

Continuing Increase

Northern Irelands environment minister Alex Attwood welcomed the figures. Commenting on the change, he said: 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.

He added: Not only is it common sense to minimise the amount of waste we produce to allow our councils to spend more money where its needed most but from an environmental view less waste means less impact.

However Mr Attwood noted that whilst the figures show improvement, Northern Ireland still faces challenges and needs to take its clean and green reputation to a new level if it is to become a world leader in carbon reduction.

Annual

In December 2011 Northern Irelands Department of Environment published its final annual figures for the financial year 2010/11 (see letsrecycle.com story) which showed an overall household recycling rate of 37.4%. This represented an increase of almost two percentage points from the 2009/10 figure which stood at 35%.

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DOE’s report

Provisional figures reported by the Department of Environment for the first quarter of 2011/12 showed that 40% of municipal waste collected between April and June 2011 was recycled or composted whilst 57.4% was sent to landfill.

The amount of household waste that was recycled for the same period reached 41.5% whilst 56% was sent to landfill.

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