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Wales publishes latest end destination data

The Welsh Government has published its latest set of data revealing where recyclables collected by Wales 22 local authorities end up.

And, for the first time, the data includes the end destinations of 20 material types as opposed to the six covered in previous reports. New materials covered in the latest report, which cover the 2012/13 financial year, include: batteries, tyres and waste electricals.

Much of Wales' waste is treated in the south of Wales and the north west of England
Much of Wales’ waste is treated in the south of Wales and the north west of England

The Welsh Government has required local authorities to report the destination of household recyclate since 2010 and has issued two previous reports, covering the October 2010- March 2011 and 2011/12 periods.

Materials covered by these reports were: paper, card, wood, plastics, metal and glass (see letsrecycle.com story).

The latest 2012/13 dataset includes tonnages for these materials in addition to: organic material, textiles, batteries, tyres, oil and waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE), as well as other, incinerator bottom ash and rubble.

Other materials listed include composite, commingled materials, furniture, paint, soil and plasterboard.

Data

The data provides confirmation that Welsh households reused, recycled or composted 815,139 tonnes, or 52% of their waste in 2012/13, which it confirmed in November last year (see letsrecycle.com story).

Local authorities reported that they sent 475, 770 tonnes of waste to sorting facilities and reprocessors, whilst they identified specifically that 24,269 tonnes was sent for export. The remainder of this material was mostly organic material sent for treatment.

And, in terms of end destination, the majority of waste was reprocessed or treated in South Wales -predominantly in areas such as Cardiff and Newport as well as the north west of England.

However, the Welsh Government acknowledged that there are instances where local authorities are not yet able to track all waste to its final location.

Natural Resources Wales is continuing to provide advice and guidance to local authorities to improve this, it said.

Materials

The figures show that paper and card was by far the most reprocessed material, with 156,665 tonnes sent to reprocessing facilities. This was followed by glass (75,523), wood (50,881), and metal and plastics with 37,258 tonnes and 37,140 tonnes reprocessed respectively.

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‘High quality recyclable materials can fetch a high price, and I want to see Wales develop these markets to encourage growth and green jobs.’

– Alun Davies, Minister for Natural Resources and Food

In terms of local authorities, Cardiff saw the most material reprocessed domestically with 59,625 tonnes recycled compared to just 262 tonnes exported. In contrast at the bottom of the table, Merthyr Tydfil sent 5,495 tonnes for reprocessing and 4,123 tonnes exported.

Minister for Natural Resources and Food, Alun Davies, said: This annual dataset has the potential to be extremely useful to businesses looking to source materials for use in manufacturing and I hope it will help to develop markets for recycled goods to benefit Wales.

I am committed to developing a circular economy in Wales, in which we can conserve our natural resources and make the most efficient use of materials. High quality recyclable materials can fetch a high price, and I want to see Wales develop these markets to encourage growth and green jobs.

England

At present, Wales is the only country in the UK to provide end destination data for recyclables collected. A voluntary initiative exists for local authorities in England and Northern Ireland, but there is no legal requirement for the information to be published (see letsrecycle.com story).

In February this year, the EUs Committee of the Regions endorsed proposals that would require exporters to publish end destination information of all exported recyclable material to target, in order to combat port hopping activities (see letsrecycle.com story).

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