Wales could narrowly miss 40% recycling target

Encouraging though these statistics are, I am mindful that there is still a long way for us to go if we are to achieve our ambition of  becoming a zero waste nation

 
Jane Davidson

Provisional figures published yesterday show that the country sent just 37% of municipal waste for composting or recycling in the third quarter of 2009/10 (October to December).

And, while the WAG said that this represented a 40% recycling rate when looked at together with the previous two quarters, when 41% was recycled, it did not take into account how data from the last quarter, between January and March, might affect this.

Traditionally less material is recycled in the winter months due to the weather and lack of green waste tonnages, therefore dragging the overall recycling rate down. For instance, only 35% was recycled in the same period last year. And, the extreme cold snap seen this year could have impacted on performance.

As a result, it will be very difficult for the country to achieve the 41% recycling and composting rate during this period necessary to comfortably achieve the 40% target for the year overall. At the very least, a 39% recycling and composting rate would be needed in this period if the WAG rounds up the overall recycling rate for the year in its favour, from 39.5%.

The importance of maintaining its recycling performance over the winter months was recognised by the WAG when its second quarter figures were published in January 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Announcing the latest figures, environment minister Jane Davidson said the country was still on track to meet its target.

She said: “I am delighted that Wales remains on track to meet the 40% recycling and composting target for 2009/10 and I would like to congratulate local authorities and householders for their hard work and commitment in working towards this important milestone.”

However, while the minister said the figures were “encouraging”, she said local authorities should be “mindful that there is still a long way for us to go if we are to achieve our ambition of becoming a zero waste nation”.

Figures

Also included the today's figures, the WAG highlighted that municipal waste arisings had fallen from 388,000 tonnes produced between October and December 2008 to 373,000 tonnes for October to December 2009.

And, the amount of household waste produced per head over the quarter also decreased, going from 77kg of household waste per person in the third quarter of 2008 to 71kg of household waste per person in the third quarter of 2009.

Analysing local authority performance, Denbighshire council continued to excel with a 50% municipal waste recycling figure for the quarter. This was followed by Caerphilly county borough council (47%), Isle of Anglesey county council (46%) and Gwynedd council (46%).

At the other end of the spectrum, Bridgend county borough council posted the lowest performance for the period with a 28% recycling rate, narrowly ahead of Neath Port Talbot county borough council, which recorded a 30% rate.

The WAG is expected to publish its final ‘Towards Zero Waste' strategy which will lay out its long-term plans for waste in Wales in the next few months (see letsrecycle.com story).