Written - Progress in meeting municipal waste recycling targets

I welcome the publication today of the Municipal Waste Management Release April–June 2009 which shows that, for the first time, Wales is recycling and composting over 40% of its municipal waste, and is on track to meet the target we have set of 40% for 2009-10. The results for the three month period April – June 2009 show that Wales now recycles 41% of its municipal waste. This compares with a figure of 36% in the corresponding period in 2008.

At the same time the amount of household waste sent to landfill or energy from waste has fallen, from 86 kilograms per person in April to June 2008 to 77 kilograms per person in April to June 2009.  The amount of household waste sent to landfill or energy from waste was 109 kilograms per person in April to June 2006.

The total amount of municipal waste produced in Wales has also decreased, falling from 440,000 tonnes in April to June 2008 to 427,000 tonnes in April – June 2009, a reduction of 3%.

The Welsh Assembly Government has provided Local Authorities with an extra £24 million in 2009-10 to increase the collection from households of recyclable materials, including the separate collection of food waste. Eighteen of the twenty two councils in Wales are now operating food waste collection services.

As a result of the effort on recycling and composting, Wales has met two years early its share of the first EU Landfill Directive target for 2009-10 to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) landfilled.  In 2007-08 local authorities sent 680,912 tonnes of BMW to landfill compared to the statutory EU Landfill Directive maximum permitted level of 710,000 tonnes for 2009-10.  In 2008-09 local authorities sent 599,703 tonnes of BMW to landfill and all local authorities met their 2009-10 targets a year early.  

It has always been the Assembly Government’s aim that recycling, composting and anaerobic digestion of source separated recyclable and compostable materials should be the primary means of achieving the EU Landfill Directive targets to reduce substantially the landfill of BMW.  This policy has been vindicated, and we will continue with this to ensure that the next EU Landfill Directive target set for 2012-13 is also met as far as possible through recycling, composting and anaerobic digestion. As well as the provision of additional funding for food waste collection, the Assembly Government has agreed a funding package of £26 million to support the procurement and development of a network of anaerobic digestion facilities to turn food waste into renewable energy and a valuable fertiliser.

I want to thank both the people of Wales for their magnificent effort in reaching 41% recycling and the local authorities for all their hard work in collecting and recycling the material. We must now make sure this progress continues as the Welsh Assembly Government’s vision goes much further. To move our country towards a leaner, greener nation and reduce our use of global resources we have proposed in our draft new waste strategy, Towards Zero Waste, a target of 70% for recycling and composting by 2025. We have also set a target of a maximum of 5% landfill by 2025. 

But this is more than just about being greener. Recycling, when it is done in the right way, can maximise the opportunities to use the valuable resources more locally and create local Welsh jobs in the green economy. This can be achieved through as much separation at source as possible of recyclable materials – thus yielding a higher value quality recyclate that local reprocessors and manufacturing companies are crying out for. Poor separation of recyclables results in much more contamination. This yields a lower quality material that often has to be exported for use abroad.  So I call upon local authorities to work with their householders to design and adopt the best collection systems that maximise the chances of the value of the recyclate being reinvested in the local Welsh economy.  This may mean a little bit more effort for all, but the return on that extra effort will be worth it, both in terms of the economic and social outcomes that will be achieved, as well as the additional environmental benefits of using the recyclate in Wales instead of abroad.

I also welcome the continued reduction in municipal waste, a trend that began after 2004-05, despite a period of strong economic growth up until mid 2008. If we are to achieve our long term goal of one planet living as set out in our new Sustainable Development Scheme, One Wales, One Planet, then we need to reduce radically our consumption of resources, and the amount we waste. This will require changes in the way products are made and packaged, in what we all buy and in how we treat goods when we no longer have any use for them.  Waste reduction and beneficial reuse will be the cornerstone of the new waste strategy. We will design a radical programme of action to build upon and continue the successful year-on-year reduction in municipal waste that we have seen since 2004-05.  Waste must be challenged robustly and we must all play our part in order to ensure that we only use our fair share of the world’s resources.