Wales “on track” to meet recycling targets

Municipal waste management in Wales 1999-2006 (figures in thousand tonnes)

The results of the Municipal Waste Management Survey covering the financial year 2005/06 for Wales also reported that Wales achieved a 25.9% municipal waste recycling rate. This municipal waste figure included the recycling of non-household waste collected by councils, such as rubble and beach waste – but not abandoned vehicles.

The achievement represents an increase in the 18.1% household waste recycling rate and 21.7% municipal waste recycling rate achieved in Wales in 2004/05.

The total tonnage of municipal waste recycled or composted (not including abandoned vehicles) rose by 16% to 484,000 tonnes.

The survey reported that for the first time, the total amount of municipal waste arising in Wales decreased – by 3%, from 1.94 million tonnes in 2004/05 to 1.88 million tonnes in 2005/06.

Household waste represented about 80% of the arisings of municipal waste in Wales in 2005/06, but unlike councils in England, local authorities in Wales have their recycling targets set relating to municipal waste.

The survey results come just ahead of the publication of the National Assembly for Wales Performance Indicators on October 31, which should see rates reported 2-3% lower than the survey figures, since the indicators do not include rubble.

” We are confident that this year's 25% recycling target will be exceeded. “
– Dr Andy Rees, head of the Welsh Assembly's Waste Strategy Unit
Councils
Among the Welsh authorities in 2005/06, the top recycler was Powys county council, which achieved a 36.9% recycling rate for municipal waste.

Other councils at the top of the Welsh table included Bridgend (35.8%), Ceredigion (35.1%), Swansea (32.2%), Flintshire (32.1%) and Neath Port Talbot (30.6%).

At the bottom of the table, Cardiff recycled just 9.7% of municipal waste – a distance behind the next worst Welsh council, Wrexham on 17.2%.

The Welsh capital has actually seen decreases in its recycling rate in the last two years, from 14% in 2003/04 to 10.4% in 2004/05 before reaching 9.7% in the latest figures.

Dr Andy Rees, head of the Welsh Assembly's Waste Strategy Unit, said: “We are confident that this (2006/07) year's 25% recycling target will be exceeded. Powys has an extensive recycling bring system which is working really well and Cardiff is rolling out kerbside collections as we speak so their figures will shoot up. It's encouraging that we are on track to achieve our targets.”

However, Dr Rees added that Wales would have to add new recycling collectionns to meet long-term targets, saying: “The 40% target for 2009/10 will be more challenging and will require most Welsh authorities to collect food waste, which makes up around 20% of the waste stream.”

Powys
Top Welsh council Powys operates in-house weekly kerbside recycling collections of plastic, paper, textiles, cans and green waste, alongside weekly refuse collections.

John Pearson, waste services officer at Powys county council, said: “We're delighted to come top of the Welsh local authorities. We are especially grateful for the participation of community groups and private industry – it's a very effective partnership.”

Mr Pearson said: “There is no one size fits all in Powys – we collect recycling in green boxes in the South, which are sorted at the kerbside, and in clear sacks in the North, which go to materials recycling facilities. The clear sacks help us identify if there is any contamination and the whole scheme illustrates that we mix and match effectively to suit our area.”

Full recycling results
October 31, 2006 – The full household waste recycling results for Welsh local authorities in 2005/06 was as follows. Note: These are the Best Value Performance Indicator results, and do not include the recycling of rubble – this gives a slight mis-match to the results reported in the story above.