Northern Ireland households have hit a recycling record, Stormont figures reveal.
Almost half the waste collected by councils in the last quarter of 2019 was sent to recycling – the highest rate ever for that period.
Landfill rates also dropped by a fifth – to their lowest ever level – according to statistics from the Statistics from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
And a quarter of waste collected from October to December last year was sent to energy recovery – up from less than 1 per cent a decade ago.
Greens councillor Simon Lee, who sits on a waste management group of six NI councils, said he hoped the trend would continue despite Covid-19.The Lisburn and Castlereagh councillor said: “These figures look back to the end of last year and so much has changed since then.“Recycling centres in most towns and cities across Northern Ireland are closed so it’s an appropriate time to cut down on the waste we generate.”Councils have reported an increase in fly tipping after collection centres closed because of Covid-19.Mid and East Antrim Council re-opened its recycling centres earlier this month. Antrim and Newtownabbey will re-open centres in phases from this week.Mr Lee said for households in other councils: “If you are considering home improvements you should tolerate empty paint tins or grass cuttings sitting around for the time being.”
