Wales has trajectory to hit 70% recycling target

Giving evidence at an Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee hearing at Parliament yesterday (June 2), Dr Andy Rees recommended ring-fenced funding as a way of meeting statutory targets.

The evidence came in the third meeting of the Waste Management in England inquiry, which this week focused on the contrast between the Welsh and English approach to waste and recycling.

While Dr Rees would not be drawn into making comparisons between England and Wales, he was confident that the Europe-wide targets set out by the EU Environment Commissioner yesterday (see letsrecycle.com story) were achievable for Wales.

He said: We are still on a straight line trajectory. We are increasing the recycling rate every year and figures indicate that will carry on.

Dr Rees also suggested that Wales would be capable of meeting the ban on recyclable waste to landfill by 2025, as it mirrored the Welsh Governments current target for 2017.

“We are still on a straight line trajectory. We are increasing the recycling rate every year and figures indicate that will carry on.” – Andy Rees

He added: Wales already has plans in place to provide a landfill ban for recyclable wastes by 2017, so obviously we think that is achievable. We accept that there will be a need for some waste to go to landfill, but less than 5% would be acceptable for now.

While England has yet to hit the 50% recycling target set for 2020, last year Wales celebrated an overall rate of 52% across its local authorities (see letsrecycle.com story).

However, the Welsh Government is striving hard to meet its 58% target by 2016 and has referred all councils in danger of missing the targets to the Collaborative Change Programme.

‘Not viable’

Meanwhile, councillor Gary Porter, deputy chair of the Local Government Association (LGA), was less enthusiastic about the new targets adopted by the Commission.

Speaking at the same session, Cllr Porter said: “Until the infrastructure is in place, setting an arbitrary target is not viable. Defra should be much more aggressive in standing up to the EU.”

He also argued that the Treasury needed fixing and claimed that local government has yet to see any of the £600 million collected in landfill tax that now stands to be raised each year.