Committee slams NI waste recycling record

A British parliamentary committee has slammed the authorities in the North for their poor record in waste recycling.

In a report published today, the House of Commons' Northern Ireland Affairs Committee accused the authorities in Belfast of poor leadership and time-wasting.

It said one-quarter of all the North's waste was meant to be recycled by this year, but actual achievements fall well short of that target.

The committee said taxpayers were facing EU fines unless the authorities improve their recycling record over the next five years.

Even without this penalty, it said, rate-payers were facing huge increases in the coming years for upgrades on specialist equipment, buildings and recycling centres.