Residual waste research published

Bulldozer on a landfill site

Friends of the Earth has published a report which looks at the waste left behind after reuse, recycling and composting (residual waste).

The research found that we could make big cuts in residual waste by:

Recycling even more
Disposing of big items like furniture better
Avoiding disposable items like nappies

Why this matters

The less unrecycled waste we have, the less demand there is for mechanical biological treatment, landfills or incinerators.

Higher levels of reuse, recycling and composting will also reduce our impact on climate change and increase the efficiency with which we use resources.

The next phase of research will now examine policy measures that could get these materials reused, recycled, composted - or reduced at source.

Report

Residual waste research
(PDF† format- 276K) June 2007

Press release

New research finds out what's in the waste left after reuse, recycling and composting
15th Oct 2007

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