Landfill rates fall to record low
Date published:
New accredited official statistics published today by NISRA statisticians in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) outline key findings on waste statistics across Northern Ireland between July and September 2025.
Key findings
- Northern Ireland's councils collected 273,182 tonnes of waste during July to September 2025, higher than the 267,125 tonnes collected in the same quarter of 2024.
- The recycling rate was 53.3 per cent, similar to the 53.0 per cent recorded in July to September 2024. Household waste accounted for 87.1 per cent of all waste collected.
- The landfill rate fell to 3.4 per cent, down from 15.5 per cent in July to September 2024. This represents a significant long-term reduction from 71.8 per cent recorded in July to September 2006.
- Energy recovery reached a record high of 41.8 per cent for a July to September quarter, up from 30.2 per cent in the same period last year.
- Causeway Coast and Glens reported the largest increase in household recycling rate compared to the previous year, rising by 4.6 percentage points.
- Waste collected at civic amenity sites increased by 5.4 per cent, while kerbside collections rose by 1.3 per cent compared to July to September 2024.
About the publication
This is a quarterly publication which reports provisional statistics on the key measurements of local authority collected municipal waste for councils and waste management groups in Northern Ireland. The report covers waste arisings, recycling rates, energy recovery, and landfill statistics. The data are used to measure progress towards targets from the revised Northern Ireland Waste Management Strategy and the Waste Framework Directive. Household waste recycling is also an indicator in the current Programme for Government 2024-2027.
Further information
Read the full report: Northern Ireland local authority collected municipal waste management statistics July to September 2025