According to preliminary figures on Welsh council recycling, twelve of the 22 local authorities have passed the national standard for recycling targets.
This means that nearly half of the local councils have missed recycling target expectations as required by the Welsh Assembly Government. Councils were instructed to compost or recycle up to 40 per cent of all household waste by 2009/10, but 10 local authorities have fallen short of these goals.
According to Ministers, it is believed that recycling targets would have been better reached had it not been for such severe winter weather experienced across the UK this year. They also highlighted a 50 per cent decrease in waste being sent to landfill during the past five years.
Currently, over 620,000 tonnes of rubbish have been recycled or composted within Wales for the 2009/10 calendar, however a further 770,000 tonnes were sent to landfill. Nationally, Wales has missed its recycling targets with just under 40 per cent of waste being recycled.
Official figures will not be released until September, however preliminary figures do show that despite missing targets, recycling in Wales is up from 2008/09 levels by over three percentage points. In the past decade, the overall Welsh recycling rates have increased more than five times.
Environment Minister Jane Davidson urged Welsh households to begin to help work towards meeting tougher targets set for upcoming years. Ms Davidson added that she was thrilled to see Wales recycling more than ever before, but that the terrible winter weather had negatively impacted recycling rates in the country.
The assembly government just recently revealed plans to fund five councils across North Wales with £142m for projects aimed at promoting further recycling efforts. The councils eligible for funding will include Anglesey, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Gwynedd and Conwy.
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