Northern Ireland Environment Minister Alex Attwood has welcomed figures which show that household and municipal waste collected by district councils between July and September 2011 fell by almost 5% compared to last year.
As a result, both the household and municipal recycling rates have climbed to almost 43% and 42% respectively, compared to the same period last year. These figures contain biodegradable material recovered via composting which is at its seasonal peak during this Summer period. The amount of both waste streams sent to landfill also decreased by around 10% compared to last year. This means that just over 54% of household and almost 56% of municipal waste was sent to landfill.
Mr Attwood said, "Not only is it common sense to minimise the amount of waste we produce to allow our councils to spend more money where it's needed most but from an environmental view less waste means less impact. Whilst the phrase Reduce Reuse Recycle has been around for many years now, it is the foundation of my Department's Rethink Waste campaign. I am also pleased to note the continuing increase in both the recycling rates and the decrease in waste sent to landfill and want to thank all those who are doing their bit. Together we will make a difference. The challenge for NI is - can we become a world leader in carbon reduction? Do we have the capacity to take our clean and green reputation to a new level? This is where we can go and this is where we should go. Today's figures give added impetus".
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