Welsh Recycling Rate Continues Its Upward Trend

31 March 2011

The Welsh recycling rate is on a steady increase with its latest Municipal Waste Management statistics for October - December 2010 showing recycling and composting rates for the final three months of 2010 as 42%, which is an increase of five percentage points from the previous year.

Wales is the only country in the UK to have statutory goals in place for municipal waste with the first target fixed at 52% for the year 2012-2013. This could be the driver behind every local authority in Wales offering a separate food or food and green waste collection, a service that reached 80% of homes by December 2010 and several councils now offering 100% coverage, resulting in tremendous recycling success.

Environment Minister Jane Davidson has welcomed the increase, saying: 
"It's wonderful to see that recycling during October to December was higher than for the same period in any other year, particularly when one considers the terrible weather much of Wales experienced in December.

"I want to thank all the residents, local authorities and businesses across Wales who have done so much over recent years to reduce their waste and recycle more, and I wish them all every success in the coming years as Wales works towards its zero waste ambitions."

Krishna Buddhiraju