Environment minister Elliot Morley announced today (18 December) that recycling and composting in England increased by two percentage points to nearly 15% in 2002/03. The minister said England is within reach of its 2003/04 national target of 17%.
- To see which English local authorities are the best recyclers and composters, click here.
Right direction
Andy Doran, chairman of recycling officers organisation Larac said: “Generally, that's good news and means we are moving in the right direction. The minister is probably a bit more positive than most of us but it seems he may be right about reaching the 17% target. I guess the improvements to recycling rates show we are starting to see the funding from DEFRA being spent wisely by local authorities.
“However, nine out of ten councils improving mean that some local authorities are not improving. But generally, we welcome the fact that we are crawling up the international recycling league.”
Good news
The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management said the figure was “definitely good news.” Communications manager Jane Beasley said: “We welcome any data which shows improvement and we are fully supportive of all the efforts made which are now generating the outcomes that we are looking for.”
Dr Beasley added: “It is a very positive indication that things are working but it is a small step. I think we will now see the level starting to increase a lot more as a result of the investments made by local authorities come to light.”
Credit
Dirk Hazell, chief executive of the Environmental Services Association, welcomed the latest figures but also said that more work needed to be done to ensure the UK complied with the Landfill Directive.
He said: “Both the waste management industry and local authorities deserve credit for their practical achievements in testing circumstances. However, as we come to the end of yet another year in which the Government has still not enabled the UK to achieve the rate of progress required to comply with the Landfill Directive, the cold underlying reality of 2003 is, again, to store up future difficulty.”
Too soon
Friends of the Earth pointed out that the figures also reveal that only a fifth of local authorities have reached their 2003-04 targets.
Friends of the Earth's senior waste campaigner Claire Wilton said: “It is nice to have a bit of optimism before Christmas, but the government might be celebrating too soon. By 2005-6 we must recycle 25% of our rubbish or face huge fines from Europe for not meeting our Landfill Directive targets. We have the mammoth task of increasing our recycling rates by over 10% in the next year and a half. The government will have to put more money into recycling and remove the perverse subsidies that incineration receives through the Climate Change Levy.”
Accumulation
Ray Georgeson, director of policy at the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), said the figures were “good news and show clear signs of progress.”
He said that the figures published annually by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in April provide a more precise figure and are more of an annual benchmark. “Nevertheless, the two point move is significant and there are a number of factors behind this. The two stages of the funding allocations from the Department are starting to kick in.”
Mr Georgeson said that he also believed the work of WRAP was starting to help. “We can't make a direct link but the accumulation of what we are doing will be helping to raise the figures. We now have the new capacity at Shotton online and more than half of the compost producers are now accredited under PAS100.
“We are within striking distance of the 2003/04 and I am optimistic about the targets for 2005/06. Our message to reprocessors and industry is recognise this for the postiive message this is and to keep investing.”
Green waste
Jane Gilbert, chief executive of the Composting Association said: “There's a lot of green waste composting but if we are going to meet Landfill Directive targets for 2010 we'll have to deal with a lot more food waste composting, which means getting in-vessel facilities. Composting and anaerobic digestion will have to play a very crucial role (in meeting Landfill Directive targets). It's going to have to increase very substantially.”
Earlier this month, the Composting Association reported that composting had doubled in the two years up to 2002. Its survey, The State of Composting in the UK 2001/2, the Association found that 1.66 million tonnes material was processed in 2001/2, compared to 833,000 tonnes in 1999/00. The number of composting facilities has increased by 25% per year for the six years up to 2001/2, when the number of facilities was 218. The amount of waste processed in-vessel also increased from 5% in 1999/00 to 11% in 2001/02. The vast majority of material – 1.5 million tonnes or 90% of the UK total – was composted in England.
For full recycling and composting results for English local authorities, click here.
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