Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:36 pm on 20 June 2017.
Well, I’m glad the Member has pointed out that, by the end of 2016, the target was 58 per cent. Indeed, we reached 60 per cent, as a result of the work that was done. The reality is that there is an inbuilt financial incentive for local authorities to recycle more, because they can get more money for the products that they offer for recycling, and they don’t have to pay as much in terms of the landfill tax. So, those local authorities that don’t meet the targets that have been set, effectively, are costing themselves more money, and that is the inbuilt incentive in terms of ensuring that we see more recycling. And I can say that we are certainly on course to exceed the 70 per cent target that we have set for the year 2024-25.