Debate contribution: Recycling: Economic Benefits
Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on .
- MLA
- Mr Andrew Muir
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 9 March 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Recycling: Economic Benefits
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5453388
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I sent an Executive paper to my colleagues last summer, and I continue to engage with them so that I can publish that. There is a real need for us to build on our success in recycling. That has plateaued in recent years, but we are sitting at around 50% in terms of households. That is a real achievement, but there is more that we can do. I seek to issue guidance to councils on recycling. For example, in Ards and North Down, paper, card and plastic are collected in one bin and there is a separate kerbside glass collection. That delivers good-quality recycling and a good quantity. That is the kind of thing that I am looking at when it comes to giving guidance to councils. It is guidance, so they can decide what they want to do, but it is important that the Department issues guidance on this. We need to take cognisance of the fact that commingling glass, paper and card can reduce the quality of recycling. In addition, councils in Northern Ireland are receiving approximately £50 million in additional funding through the extended producer responsibility scheme and are supported through the DAERA household waste recycling collaborative change programme. It is important that they are able to use that funding to increase the quality and quantity of recycling. It is also important that we are conscious that the average residual waste collected by councils contains approximately 28% food waste, 10% garden waste and 18% dry recycling. There is more that we can do so that people are aware of what should and should not go into residual waste. Alongside that, businesses should be doing the same as households, and I am seeking to give guidance on that.
290 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.94).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.94 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:05 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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