Wales’s local authorities have reduced the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill by 54 per cent since 2005, the Welsh Environment Agency has announced.

The figures were released last week (31 August) as part of the Landfill Allowances Scheme (LAS) 2011/2012 Annual Report. The LAS Wales has been designed according to regulations set out under the same name in 2004 to help Wales meet its obligations under the EU Landfill Directive. Its aim is to reduce the amount of landfill gas produced by biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) by halving the amount sent to landfill by Welsh councils by 2013, with a further reduction to 35 per cent by 2020.

The report shows that, between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012, all 22 of Wales’s local authorities achieved their allowance obligations, with Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot, Monmouthshire and Brigend using less than 50 per cent; Isle of Anglesey, Carmarthenshire and Denbighshire using less than 60 per cent and Blanau Gwent and Powys using under 70 per cent. The authority that came within closest reach of its target was Torfaen, using 99 per cent of its overall allowance.

Wales’s Environment Minister, John Griffiths, described the report as “great news”, adding: “I congratulate Welsh councils and residents for all their hard work and efforts to separate out the valuable recyclable materials and substantially reduce the amount of biodegradable waste disposed of in landfill.

“The figures show that councils are making significant progress in changing the way we deal with our waste. Burying all our rubbish in the ground and leaving it to rot is no longer an option – it uses up our precious land and damages our environment – and so it is essential that we to build on this progress and continue to meet the challenging EU targets right up to 2020.”

In total, Welsh local authorities sent 389,738 tonnes of BMW to landfill over the year – 29 per cent less than the overall target of 550,000 tonnes – enabling it to achieve its goal of 50 per cent reduction a year early.

The Environment Agency Wales say that this reduction is essential if greenhouse gas emissions are to be decreased as, over time, biodegradable waste collected in landfill produces harmful gases like methane, with 25 times the equivalent impact of carbon dioxide on global warming.

The agency’s director, Chris Mills, explained: “Effort by local authorities and the public has reduced the amount of biodegradable waste, like paper, food and card that is sent to landfill by more than half since 2006. This is a fantastic achievement and will help to cut the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by landfill sites.

“This also makes better sense for the public purse as it is becoming more and more expensive to send waste to landfill. This will become even more important in the future to avoid paying penalties associated with tougher targets. It is more sustainable for our environment and for our economy to reuse and recycle our resources rather than simply throwing them away.”

The Welsh Local Government Association’s (WLGA) spokesperson for Environment, Sustainable Development and Waste, Wrexham Councillor Neil Rogers, commended the efforts of the councils and their communities, but also emphasised that everyone still has a role to play in ensuring biodegradable waste is recycled: “Local recycling schemes are only effective if people take part in them, and achieving landfill targets a year early offers a clear indication of how people in Wales continue to adapt to new habits, evolving collection services and the use of more modern waste treatment technologies.

“With councils facing the threat of substantial fines we hope people will continue to make the most of their local recycling facilities, as it is only through their participation that local councils will be able to meet the increasingly ambitious waste targets of the future.”

The full report – and those of previous years - can be viewed on the Environment Agency website.