Archived press release

Labour and Tory Councils Fail on Waste Recycling - Europe May Force Improvements

6 March 1997

Recycling figures published today by the Audit Commission reveal that most local authorities - both Labour and Conservative - have made little or no progress towards meeting the Government's target of recycling 25 per cent of household waste by the year 2000. Currently the average recycling rate is about 5%. 38 local authorities are still recycling less than 2%, and four are doing no recycling at all.[1]

None of the constituencies of the party leaders approach the 25% target. Paddy Ashdown's comes out top, at 11.1%, with John Major's in the middle at 4.8% and Tony Blair's bringing up the rear at 1.6%.

Meanwhile a new Landfill Directive agreed late yesterday by the European Commission should lead to substantial increases in recycling.[2] The Directive will now be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Friends of the Earth will be working to encourage the UK Government to support the proposal.[3] An improvement in recycling rates will be necessary to meet the Directive's aims.

The poor recycling figures fly in the face of commitments made by the main political parties. In 1990 the Government set a target of recycling 25 per cent of household waste by the year 2000, which it reiterated in 1995.[4] Labour has said that increasing reuse and recycling, and reducing the amount of waste produced are the most sensible ways of dealing with the nation's waste.[5] However, both Labour and Conservative authorities have performed badly in meeting recycling commitments. Most household waste is disposed to landfill or burnt in polluting incinerators. Friends of the Earth is calling for the Government to set a much more ambitious target, of recycling 80 per cent of household waste by the year 2010. [6]

Dr Anna Thomas, Waste Campaigner of Friends of the Earth said:

"Despite all the fine words from the Tories and Labour on the importance of recycling, these new statistics show that they have not delivered. We need to conserve resources not waste them, and that means much higher recycling targets. The cost of hitting much higher targets would be about the same as a packet of crisps per household each week.[7]

The reason we are wasting valuable resources is that both Labour and Tory local authorities prefer to chuck them into rubbish dumps, which contaminates underground water, or send them up in smoke in incinerators which produce toxic fumes."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Local Authority Performance Indicators 1995/96, Audit Commission. The four authorities which have done no recycling are Glyndwr, Rhondda, Ribble Valley and Wear Valley.

[2] The Landfill Directive will ban the dumping of 75 per cent of organic rich wastes in landfills by 2010. The sensible way to achieve this requirement would be for householders to separate different wastes - paper, cans, plastics, compostable food wastes, etc - before they are collected for treatment. This type of collection could lead to recycling rates of around 80 per cent.

[3].The proposal for a Directive was initially being blocked by Sir Leon Brittan and Neil Kinnock in Europe. Friends of the Earth understands that this was a result of Briefings supplied to them by the Government that suggested that a network of incinerators would need to be built - to destroy the organic fraction in mixed household waste - at huge costs. Friends of the Earth research suggests that if the better option were taken (see note 2) the cost would be minimal.

[4] This Common Inheritance, Department of the Environment, 1990; Making Waste Work - A Strategy for Sustainable Waste Management in England and Wales, 1995

[5] In Trust for Tomorrow, Report of the Labour Party Policy Commission on the Environment, 1994

[6] Research by Friends of the Earth due to be published September, will show that for a fair and sustainable future the rate of resource use needs to be cut by around 80%.

The London Borough of Sutton has set a target of recycling 50% of household waste by 2001, and 80% of it by 2006. Given that their recycling infrastructure is more advanced than in many areas,Friends of the Earth is calling for other authorities to set a target of recycling 80% of household waste by 2010.

In Ontario many areas have recycling targets of 70% to 80%, and have already achieved rates over 60%.

[7] One of the most comprehensive kerbside collection schemes in the country, in Bath. costs £57 per tonne of waste recycled, or £6.78 per household per year. In addition, landfill prices are expected to rise by between 37 and 135 per cent due to tighter development controls and more stringent licensing requirements (DoE, Landfill costs and prices: correcting possible market distortions, A study by Coopers & Lybrand, 1993, HMSO). Incineration prices are expected to rise due to tighter emission standards likely to be agreed at a European level, the potential removal of the Government's subsidy on incinerators producing energy and the increased costs of landfilling incineration ash.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust