The increase exceeds the target of 64% set in 2021 by the ‘Beyond Recycling’ strategy. A new target of 70% is set for 2024/2025.
The recycling rate includes municipal waste that was recycled, reused and composted.
The statistics also show that 18 out of the 22 Welsh local authorities hit or exceeded the 64% target – this is an increase from last year where 17 local authorities exceeded the target.
The four that did not meet the target were: Cardiff, Caerphilly, Flintshire and Wrexham.
15 of the 22 local authorities reported an increase in their recycling rate compared to 2022/2023.
The lowest recycling rate was Cardiff at 60.1% and the highest was Bridgend at 72.8%.
Six local authorities have already met the 2024/2025 statutory target of 70%: Bridgend, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Vale of Glamorgan.
Total volume of waste produced
In total, 1.4 million tonnes of local authority waste was generated in 2023/2024 – an increase of 0.6% from 2022/2023.
Residual household waste per person decreased by 2.1% and is now at 168kg having fallen from 172kg.
Recycling rates in Wales and the rest of the UK
In the 1990s the Welsh recycling rate sat at approximately 5%. The Welsh government attributes the improved rates to its investment of £1 billion in recycling.
The most recent statistics from Defra put England’s recycling rate at 43.4%. Scotland sits at 43.5%.
According to Defra, 44.1% of overall UK household waste was recycled in 2022 – a decrease of 0.5% from the previous year. This is thought to be due to a decrease in England’s recycling rate.
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “We’ve come a long way since the start of devolution where our recycling rate sat at 5%.
“We’re so proud of the hard work by the people of Wales and our Local Authorities to get us to this point and this year have increased our recycling rate by nearly one percentage point.
“We’re already number two in the world for our recycling and this will help us get closer to our goal of being number one!”
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