new data shows Wales’ recycling rates continues to climb new data shows Wales’ recycling rates continues to climb max taylor- journalist Subscribe to the Businessin Wales daily newsletter for FREE here.  New figures have shown that Wales is headed in the right direction to become a zero-waste nation. Data released today reveals an increase in the recycling rate by 1.8% from 2023/24 to 2024/25. Now at 68.4%, this rate has seen a substantial increase since devolution began, sitting at just 5%. These statistics are the first to have been published annually since new recycling measures were put in place for Wales.  These measures required all workplaces across business, public and third sectors to separate essential recyclable materials. This has resulted in over 8 tonnes of recyclable materials being collected by local authorities from these workplaces, a 42% increase from the previous year.  This is in direct correlation with the decrease of residual waste, as 15.8% less waste has been collected from workplaces.   Only 0.7% of waste was disposed through landfill over the course of 2024/25 compared to 95% pre-devolution. These efforts have been recognised in Eunomia Research and Consulting’s 2024 report which ranked Wales as the world’s second-best recycling nation, narrowly behind Austria. In 2024-2025 over 90% of Welsh local authorities reported that their recycling waste increased form the previous year, with over half of these authorities also hitting their target of 70% recycled waste. Deputy First Minister, 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. Thank you for joining this collective effort. “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. “But let’s not be complacent. Being number one in the world for recycling is within our grasp if we keep up the momentum.” Want more from Businessin Wales? Why not follow us on our socials Linkedin X Instagram TikTok Listen to the Businessin Wales podcast YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts