Recycling - Circular Economy Package (CEP) Municipal Waste Recycling Targets
New requirements and targets set by the Climate Change Act and the Waste and Contaminated Land Order (as amended) mean more ambition and greater action is needed to improve the quality and quantity of what we recycle. The EU Circular Economy Package (CEP), transposed into legislation here in 2020, amended the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and introduced, amongst a range of measures, a municipal recycling rate target of 65%, and less than 10% landfill, by 2035. This legislation also extended the definition of ‘municipal waste’, to include waste collected from sources
Type of Change
A proposed mix of Statutory and Non-Statutory
Affected Stakeholders
- Householders
- Non-Household Municipal Waste producing Organisations (Businesses etc)
- Waste management companies (Sorters, reprocessors etc)
- Local councils
Changes
- A range of proposals designed to help achieve these targets were included in the Rethinking Our Resources: Measures for Climate Action and a Circular Economy in NI document, published for consultation in March 2024.
- The consultation included 26 proposals for household and non-household waste management to help NI achieve its statutory requirements. A summary of the key proposals included:
Households
- Restricting residual waste capacity at the kerbside by 25% through reduced frequency of collection or smaller receptacles.
- Enhancements to dry recycling collections to encourage greater separation of material to improve quality and allow for more local reprocessing, twin, triple or multi stream options.
- Enhancements to food waste collections.
Businesses (known as the non-household municipal sector).
- Introduction of a core set of materials for recycling from obligated businesses.
- Recycling to become mandatory for obligated businesses.
- Introduction of tools and interventions at central and local government levels to encourage greater recycling within this sector.
Status
- The consultation closed for responses on 27 June 2024 and garnered significant interest, with almost 300 responses and over 1000 pages of accompanying evidence received.
- Officials are currently finalising analysis of those responses and potential next steps. Responses to the consultation will be used to inform future policy direction, subject to the Ministerial approval.
Expected Timeline
Subject to Ministerial and Executive approval, implementation of planned change is to commence in 2025.