Municipal Waste Targets

UK targets

A revised legislative framework on waste entered into force in July 2018 as part of the EU Circular Economy Package The new targets are as follows:

• Recycling of 55% of municipal waste by 2025
• Recycling of 60% of municipal waste by 2030
• Recycling of 65% of municipal waste by 2035
• Reduction in the amount of of municipal waste sent to landfill to a maximum of 10% by 2035.
• Targets for the recycling of packaging waste have also been published and have been placed on the Packaging Waste page.

In November 2021 the Environment Act 2021 entered into force which introduced a further statutory target relating to the reduction in residual waste arisings. This target:

        Reduce residual waste (excluding major mineral wastes) kg per capita by 50% by 2042 from the 2019 level of approximately 560kg per capita.

is currently out for consultion.

England

The Municipal Waste Targets for England remain the same as those mentioned for the UK above.

Wales

The Municipal Waste targets for Wales are:

• 70% of waste to be used, recycled or composted by 2024/25
• 30% of energy created by waste by 2024/25
• Landfill restriction of 5% of waste being sent to landfill by 2024/25
• Wales to achieve zero waste (i.e. 100% recycling) by 2050.

The Commercial and Industrial Waste targets for Wales are:

• a reduction of 1.4% per annum for Industrial Waste
• a reduction of 1.2% per annum for Commercial Waste
• 70% of Commercial and Industrial Waste to be recycled by 2025
• Recycling and recovery rate of 90% by 2019/20 for Construction and Demolition Waste.
• zero waste to [Landfill]] by 2025; and
• Wales to achieve zero waste by 2050.

Wales also have a non-statutory target to reduce the quantity of household waste by 1.2% per annum to 2050.

Scotland

Municipal Waste targets are outlined in The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, as amended. They are as follows:

• Local authorities to provide a basic recycling service to all households by 1 January 2014;
• Local authorities to offer a food waste recycling service in non‐rural areas from 1 January 2016;
• A ban on material collected for recycling going to landfill or incineration (from 1 January 2014);
• A ban on Biodegradable Municipal Waste going to landfill by 1 January 2021;
• All businesses and organisations to present key recyclable material for collection from 1 January 2014;
• Food waste businesses producing over 50kg of food waste per week to present it for separate collection from 1 January 2014;
• Food waste businesses producing over 5kg of food waste a week to present it for separate collection from 1 January 2016;
• A ban on the use of macerators to discharge food waste into the public sewer from 1 January 2016;
• All new incinerators must ensure that metals and dense plastics have been removed from residual municipal waste prior to incineration

Northern Ireland

The Municipal Waste targets for Northern Ireland are found within the Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy, Delivering Resource Effiency . the targets are as follows:

• To achieve a recycling rate of 50% (including preparing for re-use) of Household waste by 2020.
• To achieve a recycling rate of 60% (including preparing for re-use) of LACMW by 2020.
• To achieve a recovery rate (including preparing for re-use, recycling and other material recovery) of 70% for all non-hazardous Construction and Demolition waste by 2020.
• To landfill no more than 429,000 tonnes of Biodegradable Municipal Waste by 2020.
• To landfill no more than 220,000 tonnes of biodegradable LACMW by 2020