AQW 19263/17-22 Written question to the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to detail the amount of (i) domestic; and (ii) commercial waste that went to landfill or was recycled, in each of the last five years.
Asked by Claire Sugden MLA on 21 May 2021
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 21 May 2021
- Answer due by
- 8 June 2021
- Answered
- 8 June 202118 days after tabling
- Priority question
- No
Answer
The amount of household waste, collected by District Councils, sent to landfill and for recycling is shown in the table below:
| year | Household waste sent to landfill (Tonnes) | Household waste sent for recycling (Tonnes) |
| 2019/20 | 208,336 | 456,855 |
| 2018/19 | 250,078 | 439,882 |
| 2017/18 | 280,141 | 420,265 |
| 2016/17 | 321,906 | 389,045 |
| 2015/16 | 342,133 | 363,647 |
These figures can be found in Tables 15 & 16 of the local authority collected municipal waste (LACMW) annual report data tables for the years 2015/16 to 2019/20 published on the Departments website:
https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-local-authority-collected-municipal-waste-management-statistics
Whilst the Department separately records the amount of household waste to landfill it does not separately record the remaining waste to landfill which comprises both commercial and industrial waste including construction and demolition waste. By subtracting household waste landfilled from all waste sent for landfill it is possible to estimate the amount of ‘non-household’ waste landfilled as shown in the table below:
| year | Estimate of ‘non-household' waste landfilled via all such authorised waste sites in Northern Ireland (rounded to nearest kilo Tonne) |
| 2019/20 | 1,265 |
| 2018/19 | 1,210 |
| 2017/18 | 1,466 |
| 2016/17 | 1,593 |
| 2015/16 | 1,237 |
Similarly the Department only separately records household waste recycling and does not separate the remaining waste sent for recycling into commercial and industrial categories. By subtracting household waste sent for recycling (which includes preparation for reuse and composting) from all waste sent for recycling it is possible to estimate the amount of ‘non-household’ waste recycled as shown in the table below:
| year | Estimates of ‘non-household' waste sent for recycling (includes preparation for reuse and composting) via certain authorised waste sites in Northern Ireland (rounded to nearest kilo Tonne) |
| 2019/20 | 4,263 |
| 2018/19 | 4,293 |
| 2017/18 | 3,872 |
| 2016/17 | 3,799 |
| 2015/16 | 3,180 |
It is important to note that not all authorised waste facilities accepting waste for recycling activities in Northern Ireland are obliged to submit data to the Department. Furthermore where waste sent for recycling passes through more than one authorised waste facility in Northern Ireland, which is obliged to submit data, then these tonnages will be counted on each occasion. It is also the case that some commercial or industrial waste may be transported directly from their point of production to waste facilities in the rest of the UK and will therefore not be reported to the Department. The figures should therefore be considered with due regard to the above caveats.
It is recognised that more should be done to address these data limitations and this is why the Department is engaging with the other devolved administrations and environment agencies across the UK to consider the introduction of a mandatory online Waste Tracking Service which will record the movement and transfers of all waste.