UK Domestic Recycling Policy
Encyclopedia
A recycling
policy is a strategy implemented by an organisation, company or government which covers everything related to recycling, including the methods to be used, the recycling targets that are to be met and other issues including transport and processing costs.
s, protect the environment and limit the amount of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere. The purpose of a recycling policy is to improve the whole recycling process in terms of the amount of recycling that takes place and the efficiency of the various recycling methods used.UK domestic recycling policy is geared towards increasing recycling rates across the country and improving the efficiency of the recycling process. It is influenced by a number of EU directives including the 1999 EU Landfill Directive and the EU Waste Framework Directive.
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Recently, the focus has shifted from punishing those who don’t recycle enough to encouraging more people to recycle through rewarding the practice.
Other ways to improve recycling include taking glass items to bottle banks at supermarkets and composting biodegradable waste
which prevents it from being sent to landfill
. One of the best ways to recycle is to simply reuse items around the home rather than throwing them out.
The 1999 Landfill Directive is one of the most important of these, which demands a reduction in the amount of waste being sent to landfill from 11.2 million tonnes in 2010 to 2.46 million tonnes in 2013
In 2010, Defra claimed that the UK would meet its first landfill diversion target, which was 75% on 1995 levels, and that it is ‘on track’ to meet the next targets in 2013 (50% on 1995 levels) and 2020 (35% on 1995 levels).
The EU Waste Framework Directive states that the UK must recycle 50% of household waste by 2020, which includes compost
ing and reusing waste. It also demands a 70% minimum recycling target for construction and demolition waste by 2020..
is the need to remove the unwanted materials that contaminate it and avoiding the mixing of different colours.
requires a lot less energy and fewer raw materials to produce than manufacturing it from scratch. However, paper cannot be recycled indefinitely, and the normal amount of times it can be recycled is about six.
involves sorting the material because there are so many different types of plastic which complicate the process. For this reason plastic often has to be sorted by hand which can be very time consuming.
and steel cans being the most common items. Metal can be recycled indefinitely, and aluminium cans use just 5% of the energy needed to produce them from scratch and only release 5% of the amount of greenhouse gasses.
There are also different schemes in place across the country to determine where the waste goes and how it is used.
In England, the local authorities are given targets by Defra. It is these local targets which help the government to achieve its national targets. However, local authorities are given flexibility in deciding how to best meet these targets, hence the number of different schemes in place.
There were also worries that fewer collections could encourage greater levels of fly tipping and could also lead to health problems for the rubbish collectors.
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
policy is a strategy implemented by an organisation, company or government which covers everything related to recycling, including the methods to be used, the recycling targets that are to be met and other issues including transport and processing costs.
Overview
Recycling is considered an important practice because it can prevent the unnecessary waste of natural resourceNatural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s, protect the environment and limit the amount of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere. The purpose of a recycling policy is to improve the whole recycling process in terms of the amount of recycling that takes place and the efficiency of the various recycling methods used.UK domestic recycling policy is geared towards increasing recycling rates across the country and improving the efficiency of the recycling process. It is influenced by a number of EU directives including the 1999 EU Landfill Directive and the EU Waste Framework Directive.
Household recycling statistics for the UK
According to the latest figures from DefraDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
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- 37% of household waste was recycled in 2008/09.
- There was a 235% increase in household recycling in England between 2000/01 and 2009/10.
- 23 million tonnes of household waste was generated in 2009/10, of which 9.4 million tonnes was recycled, reused or composted.
- In 2009/10, compost was the largest component of recycled waste, comprising 40% of the total.
Industrial recycling statistics in the UK
Commercial and industrial (C&I) waste makes up a large proportion of the UK’s waste. According to the latest figures from Defra:- In 2009, 48 million tonnes of C&I waste was generated in England, a decrease from 67.9 million tonnes in 2002/03.
- 52% of C&I waste was reused or recycled in 2009, compared to just 42% in 2002/03.
Recycling in the home
UK domestic recycling policy is geared towards encouraging more people to take control of recycling in their own homes, and over the last decade a number of new regulations have been introduced to encourage greater amounts of recycling. These include fines for people who don’t cut their household waste and a greater emphasis on separating waste into different recyclable materials, with each council applying different rules.Recently, the focus has shifted from punishing those who don’t recycle enough to encouraging more people to recycle through rewarding the practice.
Other ways to improve recycling include taking glass items to bottle banks at supermarkets and composting biodegradable waste
Biodegradable waste
Biodegradable waste is a type of waste, typically originating from plant or animal sources, which may be degraded by other living organisms. Waste that cannot be broken down by other living organisms are called non-biodegradable....
which prevents it from being sent to landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
. One of the best ways to recycle is to simply reuse items around the home rather than throwing them out.
The EU and recycling
The EU has introduced a number of directives which determine the targets of UK domestic recycling policy:The 1999 Landfill Directive is one of the most important of these, which demands a reduction in the amount of waste being sent to landfill from 11.2 million tonnes in 2010 to 2.46 million tonnes in 2013
In 2010, Defra claimed that the UK would meet its first landfill diversion target, which was 75% on 1995 levels, and that it is ‘on track’ to meet the next targets in 2013 (50% on 1995 levels) and 2020 (35% on 1995 levels).
The EU Waste Framework Directive states that the UK must recycle 50% of household waste by 2020, which includes compost
Compost
Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is a key ingredient in organic farming. At its most essential, the process of composting requires simply piling up waste outdoors and waiting for the materials to break down from anywhere...
ing and reusing waste. It also demands a 70% minimum recycling target for construction and demolition waste by 2020..
Main aspects of UK recycling policy
UK recycling policy aims to improve recycling methods and levels across the UK. The four main materials that it focuses on are glass, paper, plastic and metal cans.Glass
Glass can be recycled in the form of bottles and jars which are crushed down and then melted. Glass can be recycled infinitely because it does not lose any of its quality. It uses a lot less energy, fewer raw materials and produces less CO2 than manufacturing glass from scratch. The main difficulty with recycling glassGlass recycling
Glass recycling is the process of turning waste glass into usable products. Glass waste should be separated by chemical composition, and then, depending on the end use and local processing capabilities, might also have to be separated into different colors. Many recyclers collect different colors...
is the need to remove the unwanted materials that contaminate it and avoiding the mixing of different colours.
Paper
Nearly all types of waste paper are recyclable, and recycled paperPaper recycling
Paper recycling is the process of recovering waste paper and remaking it into new paper products. There are three categories of paper that can be used as feedstocks for making recycled paper: mill broke, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste. Mill broke is paper trimmings and other paper...
requires a lot less energy and fewer raw materials to produce than manufacturing it from scratch. However, paper cannot be recycled indefinitely, and the normal amount of times it can be recycled is about six.
Plastic
The main problem with recycling plasticPlastic recycling
Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material into useful products, sometimes completely different in form from their original state. For instance, this could mean melting down soft drink bottles and then casting them as plastic chairs and tables...
involves sorting the material because there are so many different types of plastic which complicate the process. For this reason plastic often has to be sorted by hand which can be very time consuming.
Metal cans
There is a high recycling rate for metal cans in the UK, with aluminium recyclingAluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
and steel cans being the most common items. Metal can be recycled indefinitely, and aluminium cans use just 5% of the energy needed to produce them from scratch and only release 5% of the amount of greenhouse gasses.
Local councils and recycling
Although recycling is required right across the UK, recycling rules differ depending on the local council. Some local councils have implemented a one-box system for separating household waste, whereas others have provided many more boxes, and this recyclable waste is often collected at different times from standard landfill waste collections.There are also different schemes in place across the country to determine where the waste goes and how it is used.
In England, the local authorities are given targets by Defra. It is these local targets which help the government to achieve its national targets. However, local authorities are given flexibility in deciding how to best meet these targets, hence the number of different schemes in place.
Recycling controversies in the UK
There have been a number of controversies in recent years involving the recycling policies of various local councils:Multiple containers
One of the major problems for recycling at home has been the provision of multiple containers to sort the waste. This has been criticised for being too confusing for many residents, with one of the biggest offenders being the Newcastle-under-Lyme council which implemented a nine-bin system in 2010. Other councils have provided up to seven bins, although some private contractors provide only one, and separate the recyclable material themselves.Fortnightly collections
When fortnightly collections were brought in during 2007, they caused a lot of controversy. Many people were against them because it meant that they had to keep hold of their waste for longer and it was feared that this could be unhygienic, with fears arising in the press about health problems being caused as a result.There were also worries that fewer collections could encourage greater levels of fly tipping and could also lead to health problems for the rubbish collectors.