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UK: NEW FIGURES REVEAL SURGE IN RECYCLING-CORRECTED COPY

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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 : http://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.

NOTES TO EDITORS

* 2004/5 figures

The estimates are provisional figures based on unaudited Best Value Performance Indicators submitted by Local authorities to the Audit Commission. Audited figures will be available at the end of the calendar year.

* Statutory recycling targets

In 2000, Government set Statutory Performance Standards (recycling targets) for recycling and composting in each local authority. These were based on recycling rates for each authority calculated from returns to the 1998/99 Municipal Waste Management Survey. Different standards were set for different groups of authorities in recognition of their differing circumstances. On average, they were asked to double their rate of recycling by 2003/04, and triple it by 2005/06.

In 2003/04 England successfully achieved the national recycling target of 17% (recycling 17.7%).

* Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme

The diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill is a key objective under the Landfill Directive. By 2010, biodegradable waste going to landfill must be 75% of the amount disposed in 1995; by 2013 this is reduced to 50% and by 2020 to 35%.

Local authorities across England have been set limits on the amount of biodegradable municipal waste they can dispose of in landfill sites. These 'landfill allowances' are tradable. Authorities can buy more allowances if they expect to landfill more than is permitted by the number of allowances they hold. Authorities with low landfill rates can sell their surplus allowances. Waste disposal authorities will also be able to save unused allowances (banking) or bring forward part of their future allocation (borrowing).

Disposal authorities that exceed the limit set by the allowances they hold will be fined £150 for every tonne they are over the limit.

* Landfill Tax

As announced in Budget 2003 the standard rate of landfill tax, which applies to active wastes, increases by £3 per tonne to £18 per tonnes from 1 April 2005, and by at least £3 per tonne in the following years to reach a medium to long-term rate of £35 per tonne.

The Landfill Tax was introduced to stimulate reductions in the levels of waste going to landfill and encourage the development of more sustainable waste management practices. Increases in the tax from April 2005 aim to accelerate this process.

* WRAP

WRAP ( the Waste & Resources Action Programme) helps local authorities to improve their recycling rates and helps industry to use the materials recovered through recycling to make new products.

WRAP is also responsible for Recycle Now, the major advertising campaign to encourage recycling, which includes a series of TV adverts featuring a little boy recycling his drinks can with a voiceover by Eddie Izzard.

Set up in 2001, to improve the UK's recycling performance and resource efficiency, WRAP is a not for profit organisation backed by Government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Public enquiries 08459 335577;
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