Friends of the Earth: Press Release: NEW LAW AIMS TO INCREASE RECYCLING

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NEW LAW AIMS TO INCREASE RECYCLING

03 Jun 1998

A proposed new law aimed at increasing the recycling of drinks containers is being discussed by the House of Commons on Wednesday 3 June. The Drinks Container(Redemption) Bill - which will be introduced by Shipley MP Christopher Leslie (Labour) -calls for a deposit to be paid on bottles and cans which will then be refunded when the container is returned for recycling. Friends of the Earth, which gives the Bill a qualified welcome, would like to see it strengthened to include cartons, and is seeking clarification on how the deposit scheme would interact with local authority door-to-door recycling collections.

The UK has an appalling record on recycling, indeed Michael Meacher, the Environment Minister recently described it as “frankly pathetic”. The UK languishes at the bottom of the European league for the recycling of glass bottles, steel cans and cartons [1]. This is in stark contrast to our neighbours in Denmark and Germany where most drinks packaging is re-used.

[1] Packaging Recycling Rates in Europe (per cent)

                Steel        Glass
Switzerland            na        89
Germany            81        79
Netherlands            56        81
Norway            na        75
Sweden            54        72
Austria            47        na
Denmark            na        66
France            44        50
Belgium            30        66
Finland            na        63
Italy                na        53
Ireland            na        46
Portugal            na        43
Spain                19        35
Greece            17        39
UK                16        22

Cartons

Germany                    69%
Austria, Belgium, Sweden            Around 30%
France, Netherlands, Italy            2-3%
UK                        0%

[2] The Government's consultation on a national waste strategy begins on Tuesday 9 June.

[3]     Recycling all packaging could save around:
*     5 billion aluminium cans a year (79000 tonnes);
*    1400000 tonnes of glass (includes bottles and jars
*    500000 tonnes steel (includes industrial steel packaging as well as cans
*    279000 tonnes of plastic bottles

Contact details:

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Tel: 020 7490 1555
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Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html

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