Archived press release

FOE backs No 10 plans for doorstep recycling

11 July 2002

Friends of the Earth today welcomed reports that the Government is considering radical new plans to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste thrown out by householders.

The Government’s waste strategy is currently being reviewed by Number 10’s Policy and Innovation Unit (PIU). According to reports today one of the key recommendations will be to provide every household with a free doorstep recycling service. Householders who still didn’t recycle, but instead continued to throw out large amounts of rubbish, would then be billed.

Under European law the UK Government has to ensure that less than a third of our domestic waste goes to landfill by 2020. However, plans to meet this target by increasing the incineration of waste have proved deeply unpopular with communities throughout the country are now fiercely fighting proposals to build new incinerators.

Tony Juniper, director-designate at Friends of the Earth said:
"This stick and carrot approach is the sort of radical action needed to deal with the our waste crisis. The UK has one of the worst recycling records in Europe. Landfilling waste or burning it in incinerators is bad for the environment and deeply unpopular with the public. Surveys show that people are willing to recycle, as long as they have adequate facilities. Providing every household with a doorstep recycling scheme will dramatically boost recycling by making it as easy as putting the rubbish out. The Government must also ensure that tough action is taken to stop people fly-tipping."

Waste Facts and Figures

• The UK currently languishes near the bottom of the European recycling league table. Only around 11 % of the UK’s 28 million tonnes of domestic waste produced annually is recycled. This compares badly with neighbours such as Switzerland (52%), Austria (49.7%), Germany (48%) and the Netherlands (46%).
• The current government recycling target is a very unambitious 30 per cent by 2010. FOE says it should be at least 50 per cent by 2010.
• Nine out of ten people in England and Wales would recycle more waste if it was made easier an Environment Agency survey revealed in May this year (EA press Release 23 May).
• In April the Environment Agency warned that space for burying rubbish in the South East could run out within seven years. Northern Ireland is already exporting some of its household waste to Scotland for landfill.
• Growing waste, unambitious recycling targets and rapidly filling landfill sites are leading more waste authorities to push for waste incineration. Many community groups around the country are opposing incineration proposals because of concerns about the risk to health and the environmental impact. Once built, incinerators need more and more waste, which could otherwise be recycled, to make them economically viable.
• Friends of the Earth has been campaigning for a new law for mandatory doorstep recycling. A Parliamentary Motion supporting a doorstep scheme for every household (EDM 186) has already been signed by more than 200 MPs. It also has official support from both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties. If the Government fails to act, FOE will work with MPs that wish to introduce a new recycling law as a Private Members Bill later this year.
• Around 80% of household waste could be either recycled or composted, dramatically reducing the need for landfill

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust