To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to outline the benefits of recycling for the local economy.

Mr Muir

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.

Mr Muir

I sent an Executive paper to my colleagues last summer, and I continue to engage with them so that I can publish that. There is a real need for us to build on our success in recycling. That has plateaued in recent years, but we are sitting at around 50% in terms of households. That is a real achievement, but there is more that we can do. I seek to issue guidance to councils on recycling. For example, in Ards and North Down, paper, card and plastic are collected in one bin and there is a separate kerbside glass collection. That delivers good-quality recycling and a good quantity. That is the kind of thing that I am looking at when it comes to giving guidance to councils. It is guidance, so they can decide what they want to do, but it is important that the Department issues guidance on this. We need to take cognisance of the fact that commingling glass, paper and card can reduce the quality of recycling. In addition, councils in Northern Ireland are receiving approximately £50 million in additional funding through the extended producer responsibility scheme and are supported through the DAERA household waste recycling collaborative change programme. It is important that they are able to use that funding to increase the quality and quantity of recycling. It is also important that we are conscious that the average residual waste collected by councils contains approximately 28% food waste, 10% garden waste and 18% dry recycling. There is more that we can do so that people are aware of what should and should not go into residual waste. Alongside that, businesses should be doing the same as households, and I am seeking to give guidance on that.

Mr Buckley

Minister, if there is one thing that our constituents and, indeed, local ratepayers do not want, it is further interference from central government in their bin collections, which are already suboptimal in many locations. Do you accept that many councils are doing a fine job in setting recycling targets for waste that commingles? I name Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council as an example.

Mr Muir

When it comes to the performance and delivery of any council, it is for councillors to hold their officials to account. In Northern Ireland, we have legal targets for recycling. It is important that we meet those targets. We are also conscious of the issues. The issues of residual waste and shipping that away and the problems that that has been causing for residents in areas such as Warrenpoint are raised with me in the Chamber regularly. It is important that we address that. In addition, we have the £50 million of additional money that is coming through councils to help them to improve their recycling infrastructure. As I have set out, it is not just about quantity but about quality. If waste is commingling, there is an issue there with the quality of the recyclate. I speak with businesses in Northern Ireland, such as Enva and Encirc, that would like to be able to use the glass that is being recycled by our households and to have that in the circular economy. However, with that commingling, the quality of the recovery is reduced.