The percentage of waste recycled in Ceredigion fell in 2024/25, fresh Welsh Government figures reveal, but the county remains one of 12 local authorities to hit a 70 per cent target.

Ceredigion County Council recorded 70.3 per cent of all waste collected being recycled last year, down from a high of 71.3 per cent in 2023/24.

Powys County Council reached the 70 per cent Welsh Government target for the first time, with 70.5 per cent of waste recycled in 2024/25, up from 68.5 per cent the year before.

Gwynedd council continues to miss Welsh Government targets, although the situation improved year on year, with 65.3 per cent of waste recycled in 2024/25, up from 64.2 per cent the previous year.

Gwynedd was one of 10 of Wales’ 22 local authorities which missed the Welsh Government target.

Pembrokeshire County Council recorded the highest percentage of waste recycled among Wales’ local authorities in 2024/25 at 73.5 per cent.

Overall, the local authority municipal waste figures released on Thursday 29 January, show the recycling rate in Wales has gone up from 66.6 per cent in 2023-24 to 68.4 per cent in 2024-25.

The statistics are the first annual data published since new workplace recycling measures were introduced in Wales, requiring all businesses, public and third sector workplaces and collectors to keep key recyclable materials separate.

Since then, an extra 8,187 tonnes of recyclable material has been collected from workplaces by local authorities – up 42 per cent on the previous year.

Residual waste collected from workplaces has also dropped by 15.8 per cent.

Just 0.7 per cent of waste was disposed of via landfill in 2024/2025 – a vast decrease on the 95 per cent sent prior to devolution.

Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Climate Change, Huw Irranca-Davies said: “We continue to build on Wales’ already world class recycling.

“This shows the huge shift in attitudes over the last few decades; recycling is now a part of who we are as a nation.

“We’ve backed our commitment with over £1bn of investment since devolution which has seen recycling rates increase exponentially ever since.

“I’m proud of every person in Wales who has played their part in getting us to where we are today – in our homes and now in our workplaces too.”

Wales is second in the world for recycling, leading the way in the UK and just behind Austria in the global rankings published by Eunomia Research and Consulting and Reloop in 2024.

Over half of Welsh local authorities met the 2024 to 2025 statutory target of 70 per cent of waste being recycled, while over 90 per cent reported an increase in their recycling rate compared with the previous year.

The Deputy First Minister added: “Our recycling track record is something to be proud of as we continue taking action to tackle the climate and nature emergency and grow the green economy.”