To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to detail any plans his Department has for meeting the recycling targets in his Rethinking Our Resources: Northern Ireland Resources and Waste Management Strategy.

Our recycling targets in the Waste Management Strategy are binding legislative targets set by the Climate Change Act (NI) 2022 and the Waste and Contaminated Land Order 1997 (as amended). They require 70% of waste to be recycled by 2030 and 65% of municipal waste to be recycled by 2035.

We need to take action if we are to meet these targets. The most recent published statistics on local authority collected municipal waste, show that our recycling rates have stagnated at around 50% in recent years.

While the Waste Management Strategy aims to set the strategic direction for waste management in Northern Ireland for the next 6 years, my department consulted on proposals in 2024, specifically designed to improve recycling rates for householders and businesses. The responses helped inform our draft Departmental Response which contains plans to drive down the volume of residual waste and improve both the quality and quantity of material being collected for recycling, to support local processing.

I am seeking Executive approval to publish the Departmental Response, thereby providing councils and businesses with the direction and clarity I know they want in order to improve recycling rates and meet our targets.