Wales’ recycling rate passes 56%

This represents an increase of 1.9%, compared to the previous year, and cements Wales’ place as the highest performing country within the UK.

The figures suggest that 20 of the 22 local authorities in Wales met the Welsh Government’s target to achieve a recycling, reuse and composting target of 52%, with only Merthyr Tydfil (51.2%) and Blaenau Gwent (50.3%) missing the goal.

Denbighshire finished at the top of the table, achieving an overall composting, recycling and reuse rate of 65.9%, up from the 63.2% level recorded in 2013/14.

Rhondda Cynon Taff

Among the three councils to meet the 52% target for the first time in 2014/15 was Rhondda Cynon Taff, whose recycling rate grew from 49.3% to 53.8%.

According to the Welsh Government, this improvement was achieved through imposing a limit on the amount of residual waste that can be presented by householders at the kerbside, with fines for those exceeding the limit. The authority also launched a metals recycling communications campaign in November 2014.

Welcoming the new figures Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant said: “I congratulate householders and local authorities of Wales for this fantastic achievement, and I thank them for their commitment to recycling more and sending less waste to landfill than ever, maintaining our position as the best recyclers in the UK. This has been made possible by the strong partnership between the Welsh Government and local authorities across Wales.”

Welsh local authorities’ attentions will now turn to meeting the 70% by 2024/25 target set by the Welsh Government – with councils facing fines if they fail to meet the target. Councils had been liable to pay fines for missing the 52% by 2012/13 goal, but these were waived by the Welsh Government in the summer (see letsrecycle.com story).

Overall the figures show that the amount of waste disposed of in landfill has continued to fall, with less than 0.5 million tonnes sent to landfill in 2014/15. This represents around 30% of the waste produced. This has coincided with an increase in the amount of waste sent to energy recovery facilities, which now tops 12%.