Welcoming the call in the report that the link between economic growth and waste should be broken, INCPEN said for packaging this has already been achieved.
INCPEN director Jane Bickerstaffe said: Despite economic growth and the increased range of goods available today (which means an increased number of packs), the weight of packaging in household waste has remained roughly stable for 20 years. This is due to technical innovation enabling less material to be used to protect the same amount of goods.
INCPEN's Director, Jane Bickerstaffe said: “It is worth noting also that the UK's percentage recycling rates are not in fact as bad as they sometimes look compared with others. This is because the UK definition of municipal waste is different from other countries.
“Additionally, while we may recycle less, in terms of packaging, the UK actually puts less packaging per capita on the market than any other major European country.”
INCPEN notes that UK Municipal Waste comprises household waste, bulky waste (eg fridges and sofas) collected directly from households, waste (including bulky waste and green waste) deposited by householders at civic amenity (CA) sites, litter and street sweepings, and those (usually small amounts of) commercial wastes collected by the local authority.
Explained Ms Bickerstaffe: “In most other European countries, it is defined as waste from households plus that waste from commercial, industrial and institutional sources which resembles household waste in composition. In the USA, it is defined as waste from households, business and industry except those, which are hazardous.
“Examples often cited as models for UK cities to emulate are Toronto, Canada and Canberra, Australia. Comparing like with like, recycling in Toronto has reached 15.81% and in Canberra 17.42%. There are a number of UK local authorities that have exceeded these levels.”
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