McIlveen welcomes reduction in landfill waste

Environment Minister Michelle McIlveen has welcomed the reduction in the amount of household waste going to landfill.

Statistics published last week show that the quarterly household landfill rate for January to March 2016 was 40.3%, a decrease of 6.8 percentage points compared to the same period in 2015.

The tonnage of household materials sent for recycling, reuse and composting reached 77,593 tonnes, generating a household recycling rate of 38.3%.

Welcoming the statistics, Minister McIlveen said: “It is encouraging that more household waste is being diverted from landfill and being recycled, reused and composted.

“Hopefully, this positive trend will continue and more households will avail of the various recycling initiatives provided by their local council, such as kerbside recycling and organic collection services for food waste. Diversion of these materials from landfill reduces the environmental impact of waste generation through reduced greenhouse gas and leachate emissions.”

The landfill rate has now reached its lowest ever level for this quarter.