To ask the Minister for Communities whether his Department is implementing any measures to increase recycling rates in buildings used by his Department or its arm's-length bodies.

Premise Officers within the buildings occupied by my Department encourage staff to separate waste streams so appropriate recycling can take place.

Whilst this issue is an operational matter for Arm’s Length Bodies, I have sought the requested information from them. Some of the measures implemented by the Arm’s Length Bodies for which my Department is the sponsor body include:

the segregation of recyclables from general waste and using signage and guidance to encourage recycling amongst staff;

promoting positive environmental improvements in delivering public services programmes; and

moving administration processes fully online thus negating the reliance on paper-based procedures.

The Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has advised that ‘alongside searching for alternative ways to increase recycling levels, the NIHE converts recovered waste into Refuse Dry Fuel which can then be used for creating electricity’.