Over the last two decades we have made great strides in how we manage our waste, and the Department promotes movement of resources up the waste hierarchy as far as possible. This means that Waste Prevention should always be considered first, followed by reuse/repair then recycling. Recovery and Landfill should only be used as a last resort.
With the passing of NI’s Climate Change Act in 2022, the waste sector now has new statutory obligations to decarbonise by 2050. This means a move away from the highest GHG emitting processes to making sure our resources are used as efficiently as possible and materials stay in use for as long as possible, as well as reducing our reliance on landfilling and export.
If you have any questions about the information on this page or would like to highlight an error to the team, please contact wastepolicyteam@daera-ni.gov.uk.
