Northern Ireland’s Environment Minister Alex Attwood has announced plans to introduce a statutory 60 per cent recycling target by 2020 for waste collected by local authorities, ten per cent more than the European Commission’s 2020 target for member states.

Introducing the plans for the legislation yesterday (18 June), Atwood said: "Northern Ireland can step up to the plate and surpass the existing target. Making the 60 per cent recycling target compulsory gives certainty to everyone involved in this area of the waste industry. They now know where they have to get to by 2020.”

“Although significant progress has been made over the last decade, I am mindful that we cannot be complacent. Instead, we must increase the momentum of change towards achieving a resource efficient and low carbon economy. Setting a challenging recycling target should help achieve this goal.”

The 60 per cent target is ambitious as the provisional household waste recycling rate for Northern Ireland in 2010/11 was 37.5 per cent. Atwood suggested that the statutory target would deliver “economic opportunities and growth, improved productivity and profitability and ensure local businesses remain competitive in the global market” and reaffirmed his commitment to providing financial support to local councils and the private, community and voluntary sectors through the Rethink Waste Fund.

Primary legislation is expected to be processed by 2014 will be followed by a public consultation on the draft legislation to allow stakeholders to be able to assist in developing the detail to support this target. This law would follow on from recent legislation, which sets the recycling and recovery target for construction and demolition wastes at 70 per cent.

Further information on Northern Ireland Municipal Waste Management Data reporting can be downloaded from the DOE website