15.9% increase in landfill while energy recovered from waste falls in Derry

A significant dip in the amount of energy recovered from waste collected here has also been recorded. The developments are related.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), revealed the trends in a new report on Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste Management Statistics for the quarter October 2021-December 2021.

“The household waste landfill rate increased for six councils in October to December 2021 compared to the same three months in 2020, with Causeway Coast & Glens and Derry City & Strabane reporting increases of 16.5 and 15.9 percentage points respectively. A reduction in waste sent for energy recovery was the main contributing factor for these increases,” the report states.

A majority of the landfilled waste from Derry was biodegradable, according to the authors.

“There is considerable variation between councils in the quantities of biodegradable waste sent to landfill, as well as the proportion of biodegradable waste in total landfill.

“In Derry City & Strabane, 64.7 per cent of all waste sent to landfill was biodegradable, whilst the figure for Mid Ulster was 48.5 per cent.”

As mentioned above, the increase in landfilled waste correlates with a decrease in the amount of energy recovered from mixed residual waste collected in Derry and then converted into refuse derived fuel.

The report explains: “The highest waste energy recovery rate was recorded in Newry, Mourne & Down at 47.6 per cent, whilst the lowest was recorded in Ards & North Down at 6.2 per cent.

“Large decreases in the waste energy recovery rate were recorded in a number of councils, the largest of which were in Causeway Coast & Glens and Derry City & Strabane at 14.9 and 13.2 percentage points respectively.”

DAERA note that there was no significant year-on-year change in the household recycling rate for Derry and Strabane.

“Belfast, Causeway Coast & Glens and Derry City & Strabane reported similar rates to those in October to December 2020,” the report confirms.