A review of recycling in Wales
A review of recycling in Wales
Wales is one of the world leaders in household waste recycling with a steady recent recycling rate of ~65%. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) set a statutory target of achieving a 70% recycling rate by 2024/25. We reviewed historical trends in waste management in Wales from 2006 to 2020, with a focus on recycling. Authoritative, official data was obtained from WasteDataFlow, an Internet system for municipal waste data reporting by UK local authorities to government. Data is collected quarterly allowing the generation of time series plots, trendlines and like-for-like comparisons between groupings of various characteristics, such as number of separate kerbside collections, income, political
preference, and impact of policy changes. Results showed that the positive and proactive approach taken by the WAG has achieved impressive results that contrast starkly with the recycling performance of other UK countries. In Wales, household waste disposed annually per person via landfill decreased from ~410
kg to <50 kg and household waste recycled increased from to ~150 kg to ~310 kg, with a recent increase in incineration with energy recovery to ~135 kg as infrastructure has come online. Recycling rates show a seasonal variation due to increases in garden waste sent for composting in the summer. There are
variations in local authority performance across Wales, mainly caused by variations in the number of separate collections. Co-mingled collections tend to lead to higher contamination of recyclates that are then not able to be sold for recycling. Deprivation, as indicated by differences in income, also influences
total waste arisings and recycling rates. A plateau of ~65% recycling rate was reached in 2020, with incineration reaching a rate of >25%. The recycling rate plateaus at exactly the same time as incineration comes on stream. Improvements to recycling rates can become more difficult when convenient alternative long-term infrastructure is available, even if it is lower in the waste hierarchy. Whilst further reductions and improvements to recycling in Wales will be more challenging, the WAG’s track record shows that it tends to deliver on its waste-related plans and suggests it has the best chance of any of the UK’s four
countries of achieving its aims.
Waste management, Wales, Recycling, Time series, Policy, Circular Economy
Williams, Ian
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
Phillips, Joseph
ceb25d4c-88d3-46e7-a86e-a504b1cbd72f
18 May 2022
Williams, Ian
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
Phillips, Joseph
ceb25d4c-88d3-46e7-a86e-a504b1cbd72f
Williams, Ian and Phillips, Joseph
(2022)
A review of recycling in Wales.
In Proceedings of the Sixth Symposium on Circular Economy and Urban Mining, Capri, Italy, 18-20 May 2022.
CISA Publisher.
26 pp
.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
Wales is one of the world leaders in household waste recycling with a steady recent recycling rate of ~65%. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) set a statutory target of achieving a 70% recycling rate by 2024/25. We reviewed historical trends in waste management in Wales from 2006 to 2020, with a focus on recycling. Authoritative, official data was obtained from WasteDataFlow, an Internet system for municipal waste data reporting by UK local authorities to government. Data is collected quarterly allowing the generation of time series plots, trendlines and like-for-like comparisons between groupings of various characteristics, such as number of separate kerbside collections, income, political
preference, and impact of policy changes. Results showed that the positive and proactive approach taken by the WAG has achieved impressive results that contrast starkly with the recycling performance of other UK countries. In Wales, household waste disposed annually per person via landfill decreased from ~410
kg to <50 kg and household waste recycled increased from to ~150 kg to ~310 kg, with a recent increase in incineration with energy recovery to ~135 kg as infrastructure has come online. Recycling rates show a seasonal variation due to increases in garden waste sent for composting in the summer. There are
variations in local authority performance across Wales, mainly caused by variations in the number of separate collections. Co-mingled collections tend to lead to higher contamination of recyclates that are then not able to be sold for recycling. Deprivation, as indicated by differences in income, also influences
total waste arisings and recycling rates. A plateau of ~65% recycling rate was reached in 2020, with incineration reaching a rate of >25%. The recycling rate plateaus at exactly the same time as incineration comes on stream. Improvements to recycling rates can become more difficult when convenient alternative long-term infrastructure is available, even if it is lower in the waste hierarchy. Whilst further reductions and improvements to recycling in Wales will be more challenging, the WAG’s track record shows that it tends to deliver on its waste-related plans and suggests it has the best chance of any of the UK’s four
countries of achieving its aims.
Text
SUM2022_1796_Williams
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Published date: 18 May 2022
Keywords:
Waste management, Wales, Recycling, Time series, Policy, Circular Economy
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Local EPrints ID: 474069
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/474069
PURE UUID: d8c045f4-33c2-4356-b2c2-e43f3b53c421
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Date deposited: 10 Feb 2023 17:41
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:43
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Author:
Joseph Phillips
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