Waste shipped around the world for recycling
April 15, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Recyclers across Britain have been shocked by recent media reports showing that many of their carefully recycled goods end up causing environmental havoc in China. Figures show that in 2006, 1.9 billion tonnes of rubbish (mainly paper, card and metal) was sent 5,000 miles from Britain to China, where it ended up in unregulated recycling plants.
Rubbish is transported in empty container ships returning to China after delivering manufactured goods to the UK and Europe. This means that there is little additional energy or financial cost in transporting the goods, but the environmental impact on China is disastrous.
Most of the rubbish that arrives in China either ends up in landfill sites or is sorted out and anything which can’t be reused or resold is burnt. The effect on humans and the environment is significant. Some of the rubbish contains lead and, if this ends up in landfill sites, poisons can enter the water system, damaging both humans and the environment. Meanwhile, burning plastics and other waste products has effected air quality in many towns and villages, with locals arguing that deteriorating air quality is contributing to an increase in cancers and other serious health problems. Furthermore, rubbish such as plastic bags often blows away from recycling plants and ends up blocking waterways and destroying the landscape.
Despite legislation in China governing recycling issues, it is rarely reinforced due to a lack of resources, and much of the recycling takes place in places where health and environmental issues are not a priority. In some provinces, unlicensed recycling factories are now illegal, but when they are forced to close down they usually end up relocating to another area.
It is not only Britain that sends its rubbish to China, many other European countries such as France and Germany are also involved in this rubbish trade. Europeans are able to take advantage of EU regulations that forbid rubbish being dumped overseas, but allow sorted waste to be shipped abroad for recycling purposes.
Environmental organisations argue that wealthy countries need to learn how to deal with their waste problems themselves rather than exporting the problem to less developed countries. The question is whether or not it is right for us to expect poorer countries to pay the environmental price for our waste, or if we should be looking at more sustainable ways to recycle our rubbish at home?
At the end of the day, does knowing that your waste may end up being shipped out to China stop you wanting to recycle?
Crack down on waste this Easter
April 5, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Waste awareness groups across the UK are warning us not to forget the environment as we tuck into our Easter treats this year. We generate a staggering 4,500 tonnes of extra waste from the foil and card in Easter egg packaging, much of which ends up in landfill sites rather than being recycled.
A study by Friends of the Earth Scotland revealed that shoppers waste huge amounts of money on excessive packaging at Easter. One of the worst examples found was a 295g Easter egg costing £4.98, being sold alongside a 400g bar of the same chocolate priced at £2.18. That’s nearly 70% of the sale price going towards packaging the chocolate egg.
Aberdeen’s Waste Aware Team is running special sessions for shoppers to show them how to reduce their waste over Easter, while waste bosses in Wiltshire, South West England, urged consumers to make maximum use of local recycling facilities over the holiday. Waste Awareness Wales published top tips for reducing waste this Easter and Recycle Now suggested we think again about buying heavily packaged Easter gifts.
Here are a few ideas on how to reduce waste at Easter:
- Go for homemade Easter treats instead of buying packaged ones from the shops. They’ll be cheaper and good fun for children to make. Chocolate cornflake nests are always a winner!
- Traditional hand painted Easter eggs can make great gifts or table decorations. Make small holes in the top and bottom of an egg, carefully blow out the contents and allow the eggshell to dry before decorating it with paint, felt tip or fabric. Alternatively, hard boil eggs with food colouring before decorating them.
- Send Easter greetings by email instead of using cards. Jimpix has beautiful photo-ecards and Cancer Research UK has animated Easter ecards.
- If you’re cooking a big lunch for the family, make sure you compost fruit and vegetable peelings instead of throwing them in the bin.
- Recycle any packaging you can. You may need to separate out the various components. Foil and cardboard can normally be recycled locally. Easter cards can be recycled, or used again in craft projects.
- Fancy a low-calorie Easter? Why not ditch the chocolate and help nourish someone in the developing world instead? Oxfam Unwrapped and the Good Gifts Catalogue both offer a wide range of totally fat-free ethical gifts.
Animal welfare organisation Adoptahen are adding an extra twist to their hen-adoption programme this Easter by installing webcams in incubators. The eggs under the ‘hatchcam’ are due to hatch on Easter Sunday. All those who adopt a hen will be able to see the live action, as will those who sign up for special access over the Easter period.
There are also hundreds of green events and activities going on over the Easter break. The Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, Wales, is putting on a special series of workshops, theatre, games and video shows designed to help children understand their impact on the earth. Easter egg hunts, craft sessions and spring walks are happening up and down the country. The National Trust, RSPB, English Heritage and local Wildlife Trusts all have Easter events listings on their websites.
Young people don’t care about recycling
April 4, 2007 at 11:58 am
A survey carried out by waste management company HIPPOWASTETMshows that older people are better recyclers than the so-called ‘green generation’.
Over half of 16-24 year olds in the UK are not doing any recycling at all. In contrast, over 82% of over 65s claim to be regular recyclers. Overall, around 70% of UK householders now rate themselves as good or excellent recyclers.
A 2001 study conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) interviewed more than 3,700 over 18s in England on their attitudes to quality of life and the environment. It revealed that the older the respondent, the more likely they were to participate in recycling, with the most enthusiastic recyclers being aged 65 and over. This age group was also the most likely to make compost out of kitchen waste.
The most common reasons given by 18-24 year olds for not recycling were lack of time or lack of desire. In the HIPPOWASTETM survey, young people said they found it difficult to know what could or could not be recycled.
The Young People’s Trust for the Environment is a charity dedicated to improving young people’s understanding of the environment and the need for sustainability. It provides materials for teachers, parents and young people on environmental issues and how to tackle them.
The Young Greens are keen to encourage more university students to become active recyclers. Their University Recycling Campaign aims to overcome the stereotypical view of students as apathetic layabouts. Suggestions for action include awareness-raising campaigns, setting up recycling schemes and lobbying for better recycling facilities at colleges and universities.
New wood recycling facility opens in Middlesbrough
April 3, 2007 at 7:47 pm
The UK’s largest purpose built wood recycling facility has been officially opened by Lord Truscott, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy. The launch is part of a broader effort to make better use of waste wood in the UK.
The new plant at Wilton, near Middlesbrough, will produce around 80,000 tonnes of recycled wood chip a year for its neighbouring biomass power station, run by SembCorp Utilities UK Ltd. Using renewable and recycled resources, instead of fossil fuels, to produce electricity means reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Other products such as animal bedding, horse-riding surfaces, compost and panel board will also be produced.
The waste wood used by the plant will be sourced from local authorities, furniture manufacturers, packaging companies and waste companies. Any non-hazardous wood can be recycled using hammer mills, shredding and a decontamination process.
UK businesses produce around 2 million tones of wood waste each year. Households can also end up with unwanted wood from DIY, discarded furniture or tree-felling. Local authorities are increasingly offering facilities for collecting wood waste at local household waste centres.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has a website dedicated specifically to wood recycling, where you can type in your postcode to find your nearest wood recycling service.
Increase in landfill tax could worsen fly-tipping
March 29, 2007 at 7:43 am
The Countryside Alliance has criticised Gordon Brown’s
recent increase in landfill tax, warning that it will herald epidemic levels of illegal rubbish dumping, otherwise known as ‘fly-tipping’.
The latest budget sees the standard rate of landfill tax go up from £21 per tonne to £24 per tonne. The Government has also announced an annual increase of £8 per tonne from 1st April 2008 until at least 2010-2011.
A special investigation by the Countryside Alliance found that nearly 2.5 million incidents of illegal rubbish dumping were reported to local authorities and the Environment Agency between May 2005 and April 2006. The cost of clearing up this waste is estimated at £100 million. The report marks the start of a national campaign against fly-tipping, which is seen as environmentally damaging, unsightly, hazardous to the public and expensive for the taxpayer.
Though presented by the Government as a move towards better waste management and higher levels of recycling, the increase in landfill tax raises the cost of rubbish disposal and could risk making fly-tipping more appealing.
First ever UK recycling plant to turn used plastic bottles back Into food packaging
March 20, 2007 at 1:35 pm
A £12 million funding agreement was signed on the 5th March which announced the arrival of the first UK plant to recycle plastics back into food packaging. The plant, due to open in December of this year, will be located in Dagenham and operated by Closed Loop London (CLL). The new facilities at Dagenham will ensure that 35,000 tonnes of packaging which would previously have been exported for recycling or sent to landfill will instead be converted into packaging material here in the UK. Millions of water, soft drinks and cosmetics bottles are made of Polyethylene terephtalate, or PET, which will soon be recycled into food packaging at the site at Dagenham.
Managing director of CLL Chris Dow said recently: “The development of this facility is the realisation of a three year vision… We are delighted to be able to bring to the food packaging manufacturers a commercially viable and environmentally responsible option when specifying packaging.” Previously, tonnes of plastics were exported to suitable recycling plants abroad, alternatively they were incinerated or sent to landfill. The new plant marks a huge step forward for recycling in the UK, and has attracted private equity funding from Foresight Venture Partners, a banking facility from Allied Irish Bank (GB), and is also supported by public sector funding from the London Development Agency (LDA) and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme).
One of the key motivations behind the plant at Dagenham is the improvement of UK recycling facilities in response to mounting concerns about climate change and global warming. This growing sensitivity to climate change and the acknowledged need for more efficient recycling in the UK has spurred individuals to praise the plans for the new facilities. Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, stated that the announcement is “a big leap forward for recycling in the capital and will boost our fight against climate change.” The plans also respond to growing public demand for ‘greener’ waste disposal practises, as Jennie Price, Chief Executive of WRAP points out: “There is a real public demand for plastics recycling, and a strong desire to see that recycling happening close to home.” The new plant at Dagenham seems to indicate a positive attitude shared by both public and private sectors that efficient recycling is a necessity, marking a promising step forward in the battle against climate change.
Marks & Spencer has been the first to commit to sending plastic waste to the plant from its stores in London, and is encouraging suppliers to source the recycled PET for M&S packaging from the site. Stuart Rose, the Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer said recently “We will be able to send our own plastic waste to the plant for recycling and use even more recycled plastic in M&S packaging.” It is hoped that more major retailers will follow the example made by Marks & Spencer in committing their plastic waste to UK recycling.
UK retailers sign agreement to reduce environmental impact of carrier bags by 25% by the end of 2008
March 15, 2007 at 1:24 am
Around 13 billion carrier bags are used by shoppers in the UK every year. Though they are made from around 70% less plastic than they were 20 years ago, most carrier bags are still made of polyethylene, which is non-degradable. This means that as well as using up non-renewable energy in their production, plastic bags can take hundreds of years break down. They can also cause direct damage to wildlife and are one of the worst offenders for spoiling beaches and parks.
Widespread concern surrounding the environmental impact of plastic bags has finally brought the UK retail sector together in a joint effort to tackle the issue. Over 20 retailers, including big names ASDA, Boots, Debenhams, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Primark have signed an agreement with the government and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
The agreement proposes a 25% reduction in the overall environmental impact of carrier bags by the end of 2008. This is to be achieved through three main routes:
1) Reducing the environmental impact of each carrier bag.
2) Encouraging customers to significantly reduce the number of carrier bags they use.
3) Enabling the recycling of more carrier bags where appropriate.
These measures build on existing ‘bag for life’ schemes, which have seen retailers developing and using alternative materials and trialling bigger bags that carry more shopping.
If the 25% reduction target is achieved, carbon dioxide emissions will be cut by up to 58,500 tonnes a year; the equivalent of taking 18,000 cars off the road for a year.
Though widely accepted as a step in the right direction, other countries have gone even further in the battle against the carrier bag. The Irish Republic has levied a 15 cent (10p) charge on plastic bags since 2002, which is claimed to have reduced usage by 90%. A similar tax has been proposed in Scotland. Australia’s government intends to completely phase out lightweight plastic carrier bags by the end of 2008.
End of life vehicle recycling law now in force
January 17, 2007 at 9:49 am
New EU legislation came into force at the beginning of the year to improve the recycling of old vehicles. The End of Life Vehicles (ELVs) directive (2000/53/EC) applies to cars, vans and some three wheeled vehicles, and means that drivers in the EU can now have their old vehicles disposed of for free. Similar legislation already exists for cars built since 2002, but from the start of January all cars can now be returned to their car maker for free recycling.
At the moment about 2 million vehicles are scrapped each year in the UK, and the ELVs directive means that car manufacturers are now responsible for recycling old vehicles. Previously, vehicle owners had to pay scrap merchants to dispose of their cars which meant that cars were often abandoned to avoid these scrapping costs. Now that old vehicles can be disposed of for free fewer and fewer vehicles are likely to be abandoned on the side of the road.
The aim of the directive is not only to improve the recycling rates of old cars, but also to limit the quantity of hazardous materials used in the manufacture of vehicles. By making car producers responsible for recycling old vehicles it is in their own interest to use and develop materials that can be easily recycled of reused. The hope is that over 80% of every old vehicle in the EU will soon be re-cycled or re-used to meet new recycling targets.
Recycle your Christmas cards
January 17, 2007 at 5:50 am
The decorations have been taken down, the fridge is empty at last, you’ve exchanged your unwanted presents and hopefully taken all those empty bottles to the bottle bank. But what do you do with all those Christmas cards? Surely all that pretty, but short lived paper and card doesn’t have to completely go to waste.
With over 1 billion cards sent, read and enjoyed over the festive period in the UK it is important that once taken off the walls and mantlepeice they are not just thrown away with the household rubbish. Schemes like the Woodland Trust’s have been set up so that all this excess paper and card can be put to good use. You can take your Christmas cards to any mainland WHSmith store, TESCO supermarket (including selected Express stores) and TK Maxx stores, pop them in the bins provided and the cards will then be collected and taken paper mills where they are recycled into new paper products. The scheme runs from 2nd to 31st January
This is easy enough for individuals to do whilst out doing the shopping and if you would like to drop off cards from a school or a business, just call the store before to ensure that they can manage a bulk delivery.
So start 2007 as you mean to go on, recycle those unwanted Christmas cards and continue your recycling resolution throughout the year
WEEE – the new EU recycling law and what it means
January 11, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Another EU recycling law came into force in January 2007, this time allowing consumers to recycle all their old electronic and electrical equipment for free. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE ) law was adopted by the UK on 1 January, and will become fully effective in July 2007. The WEEE ensures that consumers can return all their old electrical equipment to the manufacturer who is responsible for recycling or reusing it in an environmental friendly way.
The WEEE directive was initially agreed by European countries in 2003, and up until now it had been adopted by all EU states apart from the UK and Malta. The WEEE was originally intended to be adopted by the UK in August 2005, but its introduction was delayed several times by the Department of Trade and Industry.
WEEE could mean that the cost of electrical goods increases as manufactures try to reclaim the price of recycling from the consumer. Research by the Analyst group Gartner suggests that the average cost of a PC could increase by around €60 or £33 (see www.news.cnet.co.uk). However, recycling should be seen as a last resort as electrical goods, such as old PCs, can be reused by charities, schools and in the developing world.
Full adoption of the WEEE is becoming increasing important because electrical waste is now the fastest growing type of rubbish within the EU. Consumption of electrical goods is greater than ever as people try to keep up to date with the latest technological developments, and discarded electronic goods are having an enormous and potentially devastating impact on the environment.
The WEEE and the problem of electronic waste has been creatively captured in a 7 metre high sculpture situated on London’s South Bank. The aptly named WEEE man is built from 3.3 tonnes of electrical goods, the average amount of electrical goods used by an individual during their lifetime.
