Cardiff - A new report edited by WRAP and the Welsh Assembly Government describes the composition of municipal solid waste in Wales. The information can be used by national and local governments to inform their waste management policy and practice decisions.

The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to a more sustainable approach to waste management. Wales has increased its recycling rate for municipal waste from 7 percent in 2000/01 to 37 percent in 2008/09, and a new 'Zero Waste' plan for Wales was published in 2009. The plan sets out proposals for a challenging programme of change over the next 15 years which will continue to move Wales away from an over-reliance on landfill and maximise the use of unavoidable waste as a resource in order to derive the maximum environmental, social and economic benefit to Wales. It includes a target to recycle or compost 70 percent of municipal waste by 2025.

The study analysed a total of 240 tonnes of municipal waste. The three main waste streams (based on WasteDataFlow data for 2008/9) that comprised MSW in Wales were:
* residual household collected (dustbin) waste – 42 percent of MSW arisings;
* residual waste arisings at household waste recycling centre (HWRC) sites – 8 percent of MSW arisings; and
* trade waste collected by local authorities – 7 percent of MSW arisings.
Other waste streams, which include litter and bulky household waste, represented about 5 percent by weight of MSW arisings in Wales. The remainder (37 percent) was recycled.

The full report can be downloaded under wales.gov.uk.

Quelle: WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) / Welsh Assembly Government

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