Northern Ireland local authority collected municipal waste management annual statistics released

The 2019/20 Northern Ireland local authority collected municipal waste management annual statistics report has been published today by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

This statistical report is updated annually and contains information on key measurements of local authority collected (LAC) municipal waste for councils and waste management groups in Northern Ireland. 

Download the report.

The key points are:

• Northern Ireland’s councils collected 998,985 tonnes of waste during 2019/20 which was 0.9 per cent higher than that collected in 2018/19. During 2019/20, 51.1 per cent of waste collected by councils was sent for recycling, 1.3 per cent higher than the recycling rate for 2018/19.
• The landfill rate for waste collected by councils recorded a new annual low of 24.0 per cent in 2019/20, a fall from 74.0 per cent in 2006/07 and 28.9 per cent in 2018/19.
• More than one fifth of waste arisings were sent for energy recovery in 2019/20, compared to 19.4 per cent in 2018/19, and 0.4 per cent 10 years ago.
• Household waste accounted for 88.2 per cent of all waste collected during 2019/20. The recycling rate for household waste was 51.9 per cent while the landfill rate for household waste was 23.7 per cent. Fermanagh & Omagh generated the smallest amount of household waste per capita at 412 kg whilst Antrim & Newtownabbey recorded the largest at 588 kg per capita.
• The household waste recycling rate of 51.9 per cent has met the Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy target to recycle 50 per cent of household waste by 2020. This target was first met in 2018/19 with the latest figure the highest household recycling rate ever recorded for Northern Ireland.
• The household waste recycling rate is also a population indicator for the draft Programme for Government Framework 2016-2021. The household waste recycling rate of 51.9 per cent is an increase of 9.8 percentage points since the baseline year for PfG reporting (2014/15) and is considered as a positive change for PfG reporting.
• There were 126,286 tonnes of biodegradable waste sent to landfill during 2019/20. This was 17.6 per cent lower than the 153,323 tonnes sent in 2018/19 and also represents a lower proportion of the reduced annual allowance allocated to councils under the Northern Ireland Landfill Allowance Scheme (NILAS) in 2019/20.

Notes to editors: 

1. This is the eleventh issue of the Northern Ireland local authority collected municipal waste management statistics annual report. This annual report contains the final validated figures for 2019/20 which supersede those published in the quarterly reports for the period.
2. The data in this report are based on returns made to WasteDataFlow, which is a web based system, used by all UK local authorities to report LAC municipal waste.
3. There are five main sections in the report which covers local authority collected municipal waste and, where appropriate, household waste: arisings; reuse, dry recycling, composting; energy recovery; landfill; and biodegradable landfill.
4. With the reform of local government in Northern Ireland 8 of the 11 district councils were split into two Waste Management Groups with 3 unaffiliated to any group as follows:

arc21: Antrim & Newtownabbey; Ards & North Down, Belfast, Lisburn & Castlereagh; Mid & East Antrim; Newry, Mourne & Down.

North West Regional Waste Management Group: Causeway Coast & Glens; Derry City & Strabane.

5. These statistics are released according to the Statement of Compliance with the Pre-release access to Official Statistics Order (NI) 2009. National Statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference
6. Follow DAERA on Twitter and Facebook.
7. All media queries should be directed to the DAERA Press Office.

8. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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