The Welsh Government has announced that between July-September 2012, Welsh councils recycled 54 per cent of their municipal waste – an increase of three per cent compared to the same quarter in 2011/12.
The figures, published in the ‘Municipal Waste Management Release, July – September 2012’ report, highlight a one per cent rise in recycling rates compared to April-June 2012.
Based on results drawn from the Environment Agency’s WasteDataFlow system, the data shows that residents of Conwy recycled the most municipal waste (60 per cent), with Anglesey, Wrexham, Ceredigion, Caerphilly and Monmouthshire close behind (59 per cent).
While the results from the best performing counties remained more or less consistent with those from 2011/12, the counties that had been performing poorly saw the greatest improvements.
Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil, which were each sitting at 39 per cent in the same quarter in 2011/12, saw increases of 17 and 14 per cent respectively, due in part to improved ‘separate food waste collection’ systems.
Wales, the only UK country with self-imposed statutory recycling targets, aims to recycle 70 per cent of its municipal waste by 2025.
Environment and Sustainable Development Minister, John Griffiths, said: “With the UK’s highest recycling rate, Wales is leading the way in effective waste management.
“Our rising recycling rates are largely the result of the funding we have provided councils to improve their collection services and the way that they have managed these changes. It is also thanks to the commitment of people right cross Wales who are choosing to take a few extra minutes each week to separate out and recycle their waste, rather than throwing everything into the bin.”
However, the report notes that while there has been a general increase in recycling rates in Wales ‘rates tend to peak during the July to September quarter each year’, suggesting that ‘higher levels of garden waste generated during the summer months’ may be partly to blame.
Griffiths added: “Wales has come a long way in the way we deal with our waste, although we still have some way to go if we are to continue to achieve our ambitious recycling targets.
“I am confident that the people of Wales will rise to the challenge and take action to harness the value of all of Wales’s recycled material to protect our environment and boost our economy.”
Other figures show that though the amount of municipal waste generated in Wales has been decreasing, it actually increased by one per cent compared to the same period in 2011. However, the amount of residual waste per person in Wales fell to 55kg, from 59kg in July - September 2011.
Read the ‘Municipal Waste Management Release, July – September 2012’ report.
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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
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