Northern Ireland local authority collected municipal waste management statistics released
Date published:
The 2023/24 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.
The key points are:
- Northern Ireland’s councils collected 1,000,681 tonnes of waste during 2023/24 which was 3.0% higher than the amount collected in 2022/23. During 2023/24, 50.5% of waste collected by councils was sent for recycling which was higher than the 49.7% recycling rate reported in 2022/23.
- The landfill rate for waste collected by councils was 18.4% in 2023/24, a fall from 74.0% in 2006/07 and 23.1% in 2022/23.
- In 2023/24, 29.7% of waste arisings were sent for energy recovery. This compares to 25.4% in 2022/23 and 0.4% in 2009/10.
- Household waste accounted for 87.5% of all local authority collected waste during 2023/24. The recycling rate for household waste was 51.1% whilst the landfill rate for household waste was 18.0%.
- Belfast generated the smallest amount of household waste per capita at 405 kg whilst Antrim & Newtownabbey recorded the largest at 545 kg per capita.
- There were 95,425 tonnes of biodegradable waste sent to landfill during 2023/24, a decrease of 21.7% from the quantity reported in 2022/23 (121,925 tonnes).
Notes to editors:
- This is the fifteenth issue of the Northern Ireland local authority collected municipal waste management statistics annual report. This annual report contains the final validated figures for 2023/24 which supersede those published in the quarterly reports for the period.
- 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.
- There are four main sections in the report which covers local authority collected municipal waste and, where appropriate, household waste: arisings; reuse, dry recycling, composting; energy recovery; and landfill.
- 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. - These statistics are released according to the Statement of Compliance with the Pre-release access to Official Statistics Order (NI) 2009. Accredited Official 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.
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