28 June 2011

Wales 2012 target in sight as municipal recycling reaches 44%
Wales is now recycling 44% of its municipal waste and is on track to reach its statutory target of 52% by 2012-13 according to official figures released today (28 June).

Preliminary data released by the Welsh Assembly shows that 43.6% of municipal waste was recycled or composted in 2010-11, a 4.4 percentage point increase on the previous year's rate of 39.3%.

This is a greater increase than that experienced between 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, when the rate increased by 3.4 percentage points. Recycling in Wales has increased significantly in recent years, with the 2010-2011 recycling rate more than six times that of 2000-2001 (7%).

Welsh Environment Minister John Griffiths said: "Today's report is excellent news for Wales, and is testament to the hard work and co-operation which lie at the heart of the Welsh way of dealing with waste.

"By 2014 we will face an additional 50M a year in landfill taxes if we continue to throw away the same levels of waste, so there is a financial imperative to recycle everything we can."

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