The level of recycling in Northern Ireland has been described as deeply worrying by Alan Lawther of the Alliance. New statistics show that there appears to have been little improvement in the amount of material being recycled compared to 2009. Mr Lawther added that this had to be improved upon so that councils in Northern Ireland did not find themselves being fined by the EU for sending too much waste to landfill.
NI waste management statistics collated between January and March this year show that only 22 per cent of all household waste collected was sent for recycling and 8 per cent was sent for composting. Although these figures have been described as provisional, they are no better than the recycling rates for a year ago.
Environment correspondent for the BBC in Northern Ireland, Mike McKimm, said that the new figures were likely to be a disappointment for local councils. In order to avoid large fines these councils are going to have to increase recycling rates substantially. The figures seem to indicate that it is still a struggle getting people to take recycling seriously.
Edwin Poots, minister for the environment, said that he welcomed the publication of the new statistics and that it was vital that Northern Ireland saw how far it had come in recent years.
However, Mr Poots may have thought that the figures for one quarter were those for a year as he seemed to think that they indicated the country was doing rather better in terms of recycling and landfill than it actually is.
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