The latest survey of local authorities from CIPFA, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, found that a total of 2.4 billion was spent by local authorities on waste services in England and Wales during 2002/03.
But, the study found that of this, only 163 million was spent on recycling – including recycling credits paid by waste disposal authorities – and the amount spent on measures to reduce the growth of household waste generation was just 7 million.
CIPFA said: “Taken together, both recycling and waste minimisation represent just 7.2% of the total spend on waste services in England and Wales.”
While the amount of household waste going to landfill fell by 1% to 24 million tonnes in England and Wales, the study found that the cost of landfilling waste increased by 16% from the 2001/02. The amount spent on landfilling municipal waste represented 25% of the total net expenditure, CIPFA said.
Spending on the storage and disposal of fridges and freezers, supported by government grants, has doubled since 2001/02. The volume of fridge units sent for recycling increased by 59,061 tonnes to 80,835 tonnes in 2002/03.
With responses from 70% of councils in England and Wales, the CIPFA study found that the overall recycling rates for England and Wales have risen to 12.6%, a rise of 1.5% since 1998-9. Officially, the Welsh Assembly has said the municipal waste recycling rate for Wales was 12.6% in 2002/03, while Defra puts the household waste recycling rate for England at 14.5%.
Regions
As with Defra's figures, the CIPFA study found a “wide regional variation” in recycling performances, with the worst regions being the North of England and Wales. The South East of England – excluding London – was the best region, with the South West, East of England and East Midlands also showing promising performances on recycling.
Commenting on the findings of the study, Friends of the Earth waste campaign Georgina Bloomfield told letsrecycle.com: “We would like to see the amount of money spent on recycling increased. At the moment, it is the minimal amount that is spent, we need to increase this as we need to increase the amount of recycling infrastructure in this country.
“Of all the money that is spent on waste management, 7% for recycling does not seem to be high enough – this is half as much as should be spent on recycling,” she added.
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