Welsh authorities now investing more in recycling than residual waste
23 February 2011
Investment by Welsh local authorities in recycling activities now accounts for 51% of their budget for waste collection while spending on residual services has reduced to 49% over the past year. This is the key finding of The Waste Finance Data Report 2009-10, published by the WLGA. The report builds on work previously carried out on the 2008-9 financial data and is available to download at www.wlga.gov.uk/english/waste-finance-data-project/.
Working within the context of the Welsh Assembly Government’s (WAG) national strategy ‘Towards Zero Waste’, which introduces a challenging long term recycling target for authorities of 70%,with fines for non-compliance, Welsh local authorities are increasingly focused on recycling services. Between 2008-9 and 2009-10 overall recycling and composting rates in Wales increased from 35.85% to 39.27%.
Other key findings of the Waste Finance Data Report 2009-10 include:
• Expenditure on organic recycling services has increased by 53% supported by the WAG’s Sustainable Waste Management Grant.
• Expenditure on dry recycling has increased by 7.4%.
• Expenditure on residual waste has decreased by 3.58% at a time of rising landfill costs. This demonstrates the financial benefits of increased recycling and composting.
• Expenditure on bring sites has decreased by 3.78%.
For more information contact: Lucy Sweet