Commenting on a Government announcement today that the UK will meet its 2010 landfill directive target, Friends of the Earth's resource use campaigner Dr Michael Warhurst said:

"It's good to hear that the UK is on course to meet its 2010 landfill diversion target - this has largely been achieved by increasing recycling and composting.

"But we should be aiming higher. Some areas of Europe recycle almost twice as much as we do - while the UK dumps and burns £650 million worth of raw materials every year.

"If the Coalition is serious about delivering on its promise of being the greenest Government ever, it must ban the land-filling and incineration of recyclable material, which will help cut climate changing emissions and create new jobs."