Figures from the Welsh Assembly Government show a dramatic increase in recycling and composting in Wales, Minister for Environment, Planning and Countryside Carwyn Jones.

The proportion of municipal waste being recycled or composted has risen from 12.7 per cent in 2002-03 to 17.6 per cent in 2003-04, excluding abandoned vehicles.

Carwyn Jones said: "This is excellent news and confirms my belief that we are successfully changing the way we deal with our rubbish in Wales."We have quadrupled the amount of material we recycle or compost since the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales.

"Building on our success so far will mean future changes to the way we manage our rubbish in Wales. With material and energy prices likely to rise, it is more important than ever that we conserve essential resources (such as paper, glass, plastic and metals, as well as biodegradable wastes that can be composted and returned to the soil) and do not throw them away.

"To achieve this while keeping council tax down, local authorities may have to reduce the frequency of rubbish collections to concentrate on recycling collections. Recycling, composting and diversion from landfill are already Welsh success stories. To build on this even further, the Welsh Assembly Government will continue to provide generous funding to make our ambitious target of 40 per cent recycling by 2010 a reality."

These headline figures published today are not those used to measure local authority performance against the well-known 15% recycling target. This is because they include rubble , beach cleansings and incinerator residues, which are not included in the 15% recycling and composting target for local authorities.

Local authorities are asked to recycle rubble etc and these items are included in these figures.

The comparable performance measure figures reporting on local authority performance against the 15% recycling and composting targets will be published in December of this year.

The targets in Wise About Waste, The National Waste Strategy for Wales for local authority recycling and composting of municipal waste are:

15% combined recycling and composting by 2003-04 with a minimum of 5% each of recycling and composting 25% combined recycling and composting by 2006-07 with a minimum of 10% each of recycling and composting 40% combined recycling and composting by 2009-10 with a minimum of 15% each of recycling and composting

Since 2001-02 the Assembly Government has provided an additional £42m in funding for local authorities to enable them to meet the recycling and composting targets. A further £63m of funding will be provided from 04-05 to 06-07. Local authorities are using this funding to expand the kerbside collection of recyclable and compostable materials from households. They can also use the funding to improve household waste recycling centres and promote activities such as home composting. There has also been significant funding provided for the expansion of community recycling enterprises in Wales. This includes £2.75 million of funding from the New Opportunities Fund Transforming Waste Cleanstream Fund. Local authorities and community sector recycling organisations are also eligible for funding from the Strategic Recycling Scheme administered by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action. This £15 million grant scheme is supported by European Structural funds and by a £6.8 million contribution from the Welsh Assembly Government.

The Assembly Government has announced that an additional £33 million will be allocated to support sustainable waste management for the years 2005-06 to 2007-08. In addition businesses in Wales will receive £9.5 million arising from increases in Landfill Tax to help them improve their waste management thereby reducing their costs and producing an environmental benefit. Local authorities will receive an additional<