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Behemoth
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
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 Posted: Mon Sep 12, 05 8:54 am Post subject: New Figs reveal surge in recycling |
 
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Govt press release
NEW FIGURES REVEAL SURGE IN RECYCLING
Recycling of household waste has doubled in the last four years, according to new provisional figures published today by Defra.
The figures show that English households recycled more than a fifth of their waste, (approaching 23%) in 2004/05. They are the first signal of recycling rates in 2004/05 which, though unaudited, provide a good indication of the level being achieved.
Performance around the country varies with, on average, residents in the North East recycling the least (16%) and people in East of England recycling the most (29%). The greatest leap has been in the East Midlands, up 7% on last year to 27%.
Local Environmental Quality Minister, Ben Bradshaw, said:
"We've doubled the amount we recycle in just four years.
"These figures prove how much more people understand the importance of recycling compared to even just four years ago.
"There's no doubt we can be proud of our progress to date , but now it's time to build on that and start catching up with some of Europe's top recyclers.
"Every person in England is currently recycling enough to fill 8 green wheelie bins, but we could be recycling as much as 20 bins worth - up to 60% of our waste.
"And local authorities will have to look at improving their recycling rates too. We want to be well on the way to our 2010 target of 30% of waste being recycled - sooner rather than later.
"Some of our European counterparts are doing it, some parts of this country are too, so it is not an unrealistic goal."
According to WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme), which runs the Government's national Recycle Now campaign for England, every household could recycle up to 60% of its waste.
This is reflected in some European recycling rates: Germany recycles 57% of its waste; Netherlands recycles 64%; and Denmark 41% -levels of recycling that some English local authorities, like Lichfield, are already reaching.
WRAP, one of the organisations tasked with improving the UK's resource efficiency, thinks the key to recycling success lies in maintaining the momentum.
"We all care about the environment in one way or another, and the great thing about recycling is that it's a really easy way in which we can each make an individual contribution," explained Jennie Price, Chief Executive of WRAP.
"Local authorities have been working hard to boost awareness and to make it much easier for us to recycle. Nearly 80% of England's households now have doorstep recycling schemes - now we all need to make sure we use them."
In future, all local authorities will have to maintain and improve their recycling levels. Defra will publish a consultation shortly with proposals for new statutory performance standards for 2007/08.
Of course all authorities are encouraged to continue to perform above any statutory minimum to meet their own local performance standards and to meet Landfill Allowance strategies and landfill tax pressures.
Later in the year, Government will consult, as part of the review of Waste Strategy 2000, on the format and level of any future performance standards for local authorities.
In the meantime, Defra and the WRAP are continuing to work with local authorities and retailers to pilot and roll out new ways - from new technology at recycling 'bring' banks to financial incentives such as discount vouchers - to get people recycling more.
A new multi-million pilot programme of local authority household incentives is due to start in October which will pilot, test and assess various approaches to incentivising household behaviour.
ENDS
Recycling facts and figures
* Households in England produce 25 million tonnes of waste every year. Over half of this consists of garden waste, waste paper and board, and kitchen waste.
* On average every person in the UK now produces about seven times their own weight in waste a year.
* What makes up household waste? Garden Waste 20%, Scrap metal/White goods 5%, Wood 5%, Dense plastic 4%, Plastic film 4%, Textiles 3%, Metal packaging 3%, Nappies 2%, Soil 3%, Paper and Board 18%, Kitchen Waste 17%, General Household Sweepings 9% and Glass 7%
* Around 20% of the food we buy off supermarket shelves goes straight to the bin. This means that every household throws away £424 of wasted food each year.
* Over 40 per cent of the waste in our bins is retail packaging - some 4.5 million tonnes of it.
* What can be recycled? Plastics, textiles, cans, paper, wood, kitchen waste, garden waste, batteries, glass and card.
* To find your nearest recycling bank and for more information on how to make a difference by recycling, visit : https://www.recyclenow.co.uk
* How much does it cost to get rid of our waste? Only around £50 per household per year, but most people believe they pay up to £260 for their local waste services.
* If all the aluminium drinks cans sold in the UK were recycled there would be 14 million fewer dustbins of waste each year. |
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Andy B
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum
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Lozzie
Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595
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Behemoth
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
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Andy B
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum
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Behemoth
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
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Andy B
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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judith
Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
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Behemoth
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 05 10:59 am Post subject: |
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Indeed. The whole reduce part seems to be missing from the equation.
I asked a local councillor about composting a while ago, whether it's better to compost waste at home or put it into the Council bins. My opinion on this is simple, don't transport the waste and compost it on site, and we're all better off.
His answer was that they have to support home composting, that's their policy, but it's better for their figures if people use the green (compostables) bins, because then a greater proportion of collected waste is composted...
If I don't buy, say, jam, but I pick wild fruit and make jam (scavenging jars from friends and neighbours) then less glass gets made, less glass again gets recycled. I'm bad for the figures.
As long as we measure success of such schemes by mass of recycled material, reusing and reducing will be less appealing for our councils than recycling. |
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judith
Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
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Trev
Joined: 09 Sep 2005
Posts: 69
Location: Wokingham DC, Berkshire
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Andy B
Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 05 12:45 pm Post subject: |
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I fear that Andy has hit the nail on the head.
We have had reams of info abyut recycling; what goes in which bin, where to take our plastic bottles to, who to contact in the council for advice, but nothing urging us to consume less, produce less waste, compost our own kitchen and garden waste, etc.
We do put waste into our composting bin; the woody stuff that wouldn't work well in our heap, stones from damsons used for winemaking, bones and fat waste wrapped up in newspaper, that kind of thing. And there's always something in recycling too. But I can't help thinking that greater energy and savings could be made by focussing on reducing and reusing also.
If I use a jam jar for storing jam in it, I'd rather use it again for storing dried mushrooms, pulses, seeds, nails... or even more jam, than smash it, melt it and turn it into another jar. Recycling targets don't address that. |
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