Turning waste into energy is becoming popular for the Irish.

New statistics from the Department of Energy in Northern Ireland show energy recycling facilities are helping to lower landfill waste in the country.

They reveal the percentage of waste going to landfill has dropped by 14% to below 89,000 tonnes. This has nothing to do with households recycling more, because those figures haven’t changed much since 2009 said the report.

A large drop in the landfill could be put down to a change in the way councils handle residential waste.

Instead of sending household waste directly to landfills, material recovery facilities (MRF) are becoming more popular. The rubbish is burnt to produce electricity.

A landfill tax is also thought to be a driver for local authorities to reduce the load sent to tips.

The latest figures for Northern Ireland’s local authority-collected municipal waste cover July and September 2014.