C&D waste emphasised in draft DAERA strategy

In January 2026, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) published its Rethinking Our Resources: Northern Ireland Resources and Waste Management Strategy for public consultation.

This Strategy sets out how DAERA aims to steer Northern Ireland closer towards a circular economy by 2035 by preventing waste, keeping materials in use for longer and managing unavoidable waste in ways that reduce environmental harm.

The Strategy seeks to guide government action towards the following changes:

Construction and Demolition Waste

A chapter is dedicated to Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste, with the following actions:

• Undertake a review of C&D waste data to identify improvements in how it is captured, the treatment routes used and the overall composition of C&D waste to identify reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery opportunities
• Based on these improved data, develop a baseline for C&D waste arisings and current reuse, recycling and recovery rates

Beyond these specific actions on C&D waste, the Strategy also emphasises its reuse more generally, encouraging:

• Designing and managing projects to maximise material reuse rather than relying solely on recycling
• Keeping materials in use as long as possible to retain their value, including practical reuse such as soils as fill material or crushed concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics

General considerations

The Strategy is also intended to guide government to encourage:

• Recycling materials only when they can be easily separated at source or reprocessed into new products
• A focus on reclamation, recycling and recovery to reduce reliance on virgin materials

The deadline for responses to the consultation is Wednesday 8 April 2026.

RSUA is considering a response to this consultation. If you have any questions or comments about the Resources and Waste Management Strategy, please contact Curtis Large, RSUA Policy and Public Affairs Officer, at curtis@rsua.org.uk