Wales is reducing, re-using and recycling more and sending less and less household waste to landfill, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing Jane Davidson announced today.
In the final quarterly figures for 2007-08, local authorities across Wales are recycling 5% more than in 2006-07 – at 32% they are on track to hit the 40% target set for 2009-10. In 2006-07 the annual figures were 26%.
Ms Davidson said: “I am pleased that local authorities are now recycling more municipal waste. This puts Wales in a good position to recycle and compost 40% of their waste by 2010, which is the EU target. In fact some authorities are already achieving way over that figure – the quarterly statistics show that Ceredigion are at 53% and Powys hit 43%. They are leading the way for the rest of Wales to follow. But all local authorities are rising to the challenge and I am confident that they will be able to achieve the 70% recycling and composting aim which I have proposed by 2025.”
Ms Davidson also said that to continue this progress everybody has to stop thinking of waste as something to be disposed of as cheaply as possible, but as a potentially valuable resource. Turning food waste into energy – or anaerobic digestion - would not only cut landfill but provide a valuable resource at a time when fuel prices were rising.
The latest recycling statistics are due to be published at: http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/latest/?lang=en
Further details of the Assembly Government’s work to improve recycling rates in Wales can be found at: http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/epq/waste_recycling/?lang=en
