Question to the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

Minister's Answer

Recycling offers many benefits to our local economy. It supports our circular economy, keeps materials in use, reduces reliance on raw virgin materials and provides opportunities for companies to handle, process and reuse materials. However, those recycling benefits can only be realised if we accept that the quality of the recyclate is as important as the quantity, and quality relies on reducing contamination through the separate collection of some core materials. Good-quality recyclate can be reprocessed locally, keeping economic value in Northern Ireland. The high level of waste exports makes our waste someone else's problem and goes against the principles of proximity and self-sufficiency, whilst also undermining our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. It also represents lost economic opportunities for Northern Ireland.

My Department's previous consultation on recycling and waste collection reforms included proposals on driving down the volume of residual waste and improving both the quality and quantity of material being collected for recycling. As Minister, I continue to seek support from my Executive colleagues for the publication of the departmental response, which would provide the clarity that councils and businesses are asking for as they proceed to make investment decisions and align with our ambitions to boost the local reprocessing industry, create new local job opportunities and enhance our local circular economy.