Quarterly data shows 35.5% recycling rate for England

I know that some people have been wondering if recycling is still worth it – it absolutely is, and I hope that these latest figures will encourage everyone to continue with their efforts

 
Jane Kennedy

Latest provisional figures submitted to the government's WasteDataFlow database for the first quarter of 2008/09 (April to June) show that 39% of waste was recycled and composted – up 3% from 36% over the same period in 2007.

When looked at in the context of the whole year, in order to minimise seasonal fluctuations, this suggests that England achieved a 35.5% recycling rate for July 2007-June 2008. The best region for recycling over the same period was the East Midlands (43.1%) and the East (43.1%). London (26.4%) and the North East (29.1%) recorded the lowest recycling rates.

The data also shows that total municipal waste decreased by just over 0.2 million tonnes in the year ending June 2008 from 28.5 million tonnes to 28.3 million tonnes, or by 0.7%. At the same time, total household waste arisings fell from 25.3 million tonnes to 25.2 million tonnes. Less waste was also sent to landfill, falling from 15.5 million tonnes to 15.1 million tonnes.

Commenting on the figures, waste and recycling minister Jane Kennedy said that she hoped the progress would encourage anyone with doubts about recycling to keep up their efforts.

She said: “This is a really encouraging sign that we are making more progress on recycling and reducing the amount of rubbish that goes to landfill.

“With the recent market difficulties for the recycling industry I know that some people have been wondering if recycling is still worth it – it absolutely is, and I hope that these latest figures will encourage everyone to continue with their efforts,” she added.

LGA

The figures were welcomed by councillor Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association's Environment Board, who said that councils “deserved credit” for substantially improving recycling performance.

However, he stressed that there was still much more to do to bring England in line with other European countries and that it was important to think outside the box.

He said: “It is pleasing to see our recycling rates exceed 35% for the first time, but the fact remains other countries on the continent are still recycling up to twice as much.

“Councils and council tax payers are still facing fines of up to £3 billion if we do not dramatically reduce the amount of waste thrown into landfill, and so it is vital we look at alternatives to the status quo,” he added.