The figures also reveal that the total amount of residual household waste per person decreased from 357 kilograms (kg) per person in 2007/08 to 319kg per person for 2008/09, while municipal waste arisings for Wales as a whole also fell, from 1,713,849 tonnes in 2007/08 to 1,645,628 tonnes in 2008/09.
It is encouraging to see that levels of recycling have increased on the previous year and that the Welsh public have maintained their commitment to recycling
Jane Davidson
The recycling and composting rate for 2008/09 represents a 4% increase on the 2007/08 figure of 32% (see letsrecycle.com story) and the Welsh Assembly Government has said this means it is “on track” to achieve its 40% goal for 2009/10.
Commenting on the figures, Welsh environment minister, Jane Davidson, said: “The more we recycle and the less we throw away into landfill the less our impact will be on the planet. It is encouraging to see that levels of recycling have increased on the previous year and that the Welsh public have maintained their commitment to recycling.”
In the most recent figures released by other UK countries, England recorded a 35.5% recycling and composting rate for the year ending June 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story), and Scotland achieved a 33.5% for the rolling year January to December 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Figures
Today's figures, which are based on information submitted by councils to the government's WasteDataFlow database, reveal that, in the fourth quarter of 2008/09 (January to March 2009), Welsh households produced 4% – or 68,221 tonnes – less waste than they did for the same period in 2007/08.
And, they also show that, during this period, the residual household waste in Wales was on average 75 kilograms per person, compared to 85 kilograms per person for the same period in 2007/08.
Ms Davidson added: “What we do with our waste will impact upon our children and grandchildren. We can no longer simply bury waste in the land to rot. Separating your waste at home is not a worthless task but one that has a real and positive impact on our world and on the future.”
In April this year, Ms Davidson set an ambitious new target for household recycling in Wales of 70% by 2025, as part of the WAG's new waste strategy ‘Towards Zero Waste', which set out how Wales proposes to tackle the issue over the next four decades. The strategy is out for consultation until July 22 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The WAG has stressed that the figures published today are subject to change, with final data for 2008/09 set to be published in the autumn.
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