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Tougher target needed to increase UK recycling
13 October 2009
"Hilary Benn's recognition of the need for more measures to increase recycling and increase food waste collection is welcome, but tougher UK recycling targets are required to make the UK a world leader on tackling waste.
"People in Flanders already recycle more than 70 per cent of their waste, yet the target for England is just 50 per cent by 2020.
"The Government must stop funding new incinerators which don't help tackle climate change. Recycling is much better for the climate and helps save precious resources too.
"Genuine renewable energy can be obtained by collecting food waste and anaerobic digesting it, not burning things in incinerators."
Last week Friends of the Earth's published research which showed that the UK is landfilling and incinerating more than £650 million of recyclables every year - if we recycled these materials it would be equivalent to taking around 6 million cars off the road every year. http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/gone_to_waste_06102009.html
Notes to editors
1. For more information on the problems of incineration, see our 'Up in smoke' briefing: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/media_briefing/up_in_smoke.pdf
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Oct 2009
