Most of our waste is burned or buried which is bad for the environment and our health.
The combustion of waste at high temperatures:
Encourages more waste
Incinerators need a minimum of rubbish to operate. To meet demand,
local authorities are abandoning recycling and waste reduction plans.
Generates energy inefficiently
Incinerators that generate electricity produce more greenhouse gases than gas fired power stations - see Dirty Truths for more information.
Wastes energy
Recycling saves far more energy than is generated by burning waste because it means making less
new things from raw materials.
Causes pollution
Smoke, gases and ash from incinerators can contain harmful dioxins
which are a cause of cancer.
Dumping rubbish in the ground or in waste mountains:
Releases toxins
Rotting rubbish emits explosive gases and polluting liquids. Methane
emissions contribute to climate
change.
Threatens our quality of life
Landfill creates problems for local communities. Nuisances include
more traffic, noise, odours, smoke, dust, litter and pests.
European laws are forcing the Government to send less waste to landfill and the landfill tax is rising to deter businesses and local authorities from landfilling waste which could be recycled.
The money raised from landfill tax should be used to get our recycling and composting rate up as high as other parts of Europe, such as Flanders in Belgium which recycles over 70% of household waste.
Friends of the Earth says:
Image © Jenny Bates/Friends of the Earth
