Vanessa Langley
23rd January 2009
Rubbish earmarked for recycling is apparently being shipped off to landfill as it becomes worthless and expensive to recycle. The buyers have all gone and the green revolution is over. Or that is what they would have you believe. The truth is somewhat different and although there is no doubt the market for recyclable materials is very fragile, it is now begin to stabilise, although still lower than the boom prices of the last 5 years.
Not all recyclable materials have plummeted, the demand for glass for example, has remained constant.
The Local Governement Associations's Paul Bettinson stated on The
politics show on Sunday 25th January that here is no evidence of
material going to landfill due to drop in value.
Those who would delight in the glitch in the sustainable ideal fail to focus on the bigger picture. The point of recycling is to encourage all of us to think more carefully about our consumerism and the fallout that comes as a consequence to it. Recycling is not a short term quick fix. It is destined to become a way of life for the enlightened, commited to reducing their global impact.
The real goal of course, is to use and waste less in the first place. Our problems with finding appropriate solutions to our garbage tips should be an education designed to produce a less wasteful society, not an excuse to increase our consumption with gay abandon content that our detritus is at least a high value commodity.
WRAP responds to current debate on recycling.
04 January 2009
It is still a better option both financially and environmentally for councils and their council tax payers to recycle rather than send to landfill, even if councils face higher storage charges temporarily.
Paper has clearly borne the brunt of the economic downturn. However, even if paper is sold for recycling at £10 a tonne that is still preferable than paying the average of £45, including tax, to send it to landfill.
The clear message from councils to the millions of people who now see recycling as a way of life is that it is still worth recycling even in the current economic climate.
Although market prices for recovered materials are fragile at the moment, our view is that they are showing signs of stabilising.
Marcus Gover, Director of Market Development, at WRAP, said: "The growth of recycling in the UK over the last decade is a terrific success story. With almost 10m tonnes of waste recycled in the UK every year storing 100,000 or even 200,000 tonnes amounts to a small percentage of that total.
"Our market intelligence indicates that across different materials prices are recovering – just not to previous levels."
In a press release dated 11th December Derek Whittington expressed the Councils thinking:
"There’s still a market for West Sussex waste," says Derek Whittington, County Council Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning.
Despite a worldwide drop in demand for household recyclable material, West Sussex County Council continues to have markets for domestic waste collected in the county.
Derek said: “The high quality of recyclable material collected across West Sussex continues to make it attractive to processing companies. We are now working closely with our contractors, Viridor Waste Management, to make sure the markets can be maintained. We are continuously monitoring the situation and will ensure the public is notified as soon of possible should there be any changes in the market.
West Sussex residents can be assured their recyclables are being collected, recycled and reprocessed as normal. Because of this, the District, Borough and County Council’s waste experts urge residents to continue with their magnificent recycling efforts.
These efforts have seen our recycling figures reach 38 per cent, which is above the national average, and means we’re on track to reach our target of recycling 45 per cent of household rubbish by 2015.
Householders can ensure our recyclable waste continues to have a market by following instructions from their local authority on what materials are acceptable for recycling.”
And its not just plastic, glass and aluminium that is being discarded unnecessarily
The Love Food Hate Waste campaigns highlights just how much usuable food we discard as a nation and the statistic are shocking
Every day 7.1 million slices of bread go into the bin. I million slices of ham and over 2 million tomatoes. An average family will dump about £450 a year left over of unused food and West Sussex's Better Tomorrows are campaigning hard to encourage us to reduce this total.
Biodegradable waste is responsible for creating a lot of the more harmful gases, emitted by landfill so it is in all our interest to become more savvy with our green waste.
The Better Tomorrows intiative, have an excellent website stacked full of easy ways to save money and save our futures at the same time.
If you've ever had a sweet potato sitting forlornly in the veg rack and just can't think of what to do with it, Love Food Hate Waste have a wealth of recipes for leftover foodstuffs, although I have to confess to being somewhat puzzled by the inclusion of After Dinner Mints as an often leftover commodity. Not in my house!
The Veg Box site probably offers a more comprehensive and exciting range of recipes albeit for mostly vegetable based offerings, but the site is stacked with tips and advice on storage and practical advice on how to reduce waste and a good place to start.
For more information on recylcing and waste issues visit
www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
www.wrap.org.uk
www.vegboxschemes.co.uk
www.alupro.co.uk
www.recyclenow.co.uk
www.bettertomorrows.co.uk
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