Letter: Northern Ireland is now an outlier when it comes to waste infrastructure and we risk it becoming a crisis
A letter from Colin O’Hanlon:
Recent data from the UK’s leading independent waste sector advisors, Refynix, has confirmed that Northern Ireland has a hugely disproportionate reliance on waste export markets to manage its residual, black bin waste compared to other UK regions.
Last year Northern Ireland accounted for over 16% of the UK’s total residual waste exports despite having less than 3% of the population.
This is largely non-recyclable waste that is being exported to fuel Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plants across Europe due to insufficient treatment capacity here in Northern Ireland.
This means the waste’s inherent value is being extracted abroad through renewable electricity and heat recovery which typically supports other decarbonisation uses.
This worrying reliance on waste exports has grown dramatically in recent years (by nearly 2.5 times since 2020) and is directly due to the lack of local integrated waste infrastructure to manage this waste in a sustainable manner.
By comparison, Scotland only exported 25,000 tonnes (down from 100,000t) while Wales exported 47,000 tonnes (up slightly from 45,000t) in the same year.
The report also confirms that as of the end of 2025 there were 64 fully operational EFWs and a further 11 in construction/ commissioning elsewhere in the UK.
This report lays bare how much Northern Ireland is now an outlier when it comes to waste infrastructure, and we need to understand the significant economic, environmental and reputational risks that exist if this infrastructure deficit continues.
Continued inaction means we are at risk of adding a waste crisis to our existing wastewater infrastructure crisis. Unlike the current wastewater crisis, there is a ready-made and privately funded solution waiting to be implemented.
That solution is the £250 million arc21 residual waste project, which presents an opportunity for Northern Ireland to catch-up with the rest of the UK and Europe.
The project simply requires a Department for Infrastructure ministerial approval soon to deliver a robust and evidence-based planning decision.
This will allow it to progress to the next stage of procurement where a business case evaluation will trigger a democratic decision by the six arc21 councils to decide if it progresses.
For anyone who wants to better understand the risks of continued inaction and who supports sustainable waste management they can visit the project website: www.becon.co.uk
Colin O’Hanlon, Indaver NI, Belfast