8th May 2009
By Paul Dicken
Wales should be a ‘zero waste’ nation by 2050, the Welsh Assembly Government has said.
Launching a waste strategy for the next four decades, Environment, Sustainability and Housing Minister Jane Davidson said: ‘I believe this is the most ambitious recycling plan among all the administrations of the UK.’
The strategy set out a 70% recycling target for commercial and household waste and a 90% recycling, recovery and reuse target for non-hazardous waste from the construction industry by 2025. The Assembly Government hopes these targets will help create green jobs and open up business opportunities.
Davidson said: ‘There are tremendous opportunities to save money and create high-quality industry in Wales by using the valuable material resources contained in waste.’
Wales is ahead of European Union targets to cut back on land-filling biodegradable waste, and data for the first three quarters of 2008/09 showed that 36% of municipal waste was recycled.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme Cymru said it would take the lead in developing Wales’ infrastructure for recycling waste. It aims to reduce the amount of waste in landfill sites by more than 1.1 million tonnes in three years.
WRAP chief executive Liz Goodwin said the aim was to increase turnover in Welsh recycling businesses by £6m a year for the next three years.
