10,000 tonnes of recyclable rubbish is burned

AROUND 10,000 tonnes of material left out for recycling was incinerated in a 12-month period.

Some 22% of all household waste here was burned in the year to March 2020.

Of the 95,536 tonnes of recycling collected by the roadside, around 11% was rejected and sent for “energy recovery”, ie incineration.

The figures were released by Environment Minister Edwin Poots after an Assembly question from Alliance’s John Blair.

It follows a Channel 4 Dispatches programme that revealed some councils in the UK recycle less than 25% of the waste householders put out in bins.

Mr Blair said he is concerned about the environmental impact of incinerating recyclable material.

“Carbon emissions are a prime driver of climate change, which is why there has been a move away from coal-fired energy. However, more energy-generating incinerators has meant they are steadily producing more C02. In fact, in 2019 emissions from the UK’S incinerators overtook those from coal,” he said.

“More can be done to stop recyclable materials being incinerated. Valuable resources such as plastic should remain in the circular economy and not sent for incineration.”

Belfast Green Party councillor Bryan Smyth said: “It’s disappointing that this level of recycling ends up incinerated.

“Manufacturers must produce less packaging, and packaging that is easier to recycle. Likewise, the scourge of single use plastics must be dealt with by government at all levels.

“Our citizens have bought into recycling and many people across Northern Ireland do their individual bit and take the time to separate their household waste. As public representatives, we need to put in place the systems that match their efforts.”

Mr Poots said the 11% figure is “significantly lower than other parts of the UK, and my department is working closely with councils and delivery partners to improve this further”.

“In addition, councils are well aware of the benefits of reusing and recycling our resources over and above incineration or landfill,” he added.

“I am continually striving to ensure that more action is taken to address consistency in collections and contamination within recycling streams.

“In order to improve the quality and quantity of our recycling and thereby enabling a transition to a low carbon, circular economy, I believe it is important that difficult or non-recyclable items are removed from recycling streams before they are collected.”

He said his department is addressing this by working to improve packaging, a better consistency of items collected, and encouraging the public to have a better understanding of what can be recycled.

It comes after it emerged DUP MPS signed a letter in support of the controversial Arc21 incinerator near Mallusk in Co Antrim, despite the party’s representatives previously voicing their opposition to the scheme.

In a letter to Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon, the DUP’S eight MPS said the incinerator was a “vital strategic project for the successful delivery of Northern Ireland’s future waste management strategy and the immense private sector investment (£240 million) in the post-covid recovery phase period must be welcomed”.

Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken described the move as an “extraordinary U-turn” by the party.