Waste and recycling

Waste and recycling is a global issue. The UK is facing a waste crisis, with landfill space running out, waste is set to double by 2020 at a cost of around £3.6 billion a year in disposal costs plus hefty EU fines to be levied if the UK doesn't comply with the Landfill Directive.

Today in the UK, resources are either mostly dumped in landfill sites that are fast running out of space or burned in incinerators that are considered a threat to health.

There are many cities, provinces and states around the world, who are setting themselves the target of zero-waste status by 2020 or even 2010. Companies including Honda, Toyota and Xerox have implemented zero waste strategies.

Even a low estimate suggests that the UK could infact create 50,000 jobs in greener waste management if the country pursued a zero waste strategy, as well as reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding the controversy and risk relating to incinerators.

The Green Party is calling upon the UK Government to develop and implement a zero waste strategy. Britain's waste crisis has reached such proportions that we can no longer afford to sit around and wait until we are told to do so by the European Union. We need to take the first few steps now, in a change of attitude from the old mentality of "produce and disregard" to a new philosophy of "reduce, reuse, recycle".

Britain's current waste management strategy is clearly failing. Research shows that England and Wales produce about 435 million tonnes of waste a year, much of which is from industrial, construction, demolition and agricultural activities. We produce enough waste in one hour to fill the Royal Albert Hall. Only 12% of this is recycled or composted.

Most UK waste is landfilled (nearly 80%). This falls far below the rate of other European countries, some of which recycle up to 40% of their waste. Household waste is growing at a rate of 3% each year. At current rates of growth, household waste will double by 2020, and its disposal will end up costing £3.2 billion a year, which would mean spending an extra £1.6 billion a year on waste management. On average, each person in the UK generates seven times their own weight in rubbish every year. Approximately one fifth (20%) of the food we buy in supermarkets goes straight in the bin.

We need to begin concentrating not only on recycling, reusing and composting waste, but also on reducing the amount of waste that is actually generated in the first place.

We want to make better use of the things that we throw away, and invest in re-using and recycling materials, not pointlessly and harmfully incinerating them. It is the job of the government to make recycling easy and a second nature rather than a chore.

The Green Party will:

Adopt a Zero Waste strategy, to minimise waste and maximise recycling.
Ensure all households get comprehensive weekly doorstep recycling and compost collections.
Introduce a law banning new waste incinerators and setting the earliest practicable date for phasing out any existing incinerators.
Invest in new sustainable waste technology to create renewable energy.
Support the recycling industry and create new green jobs.
Eliminate the use of free, throwaway carrier bags.
Promote business recycling.
Implement a law requiring local authorities to set and meet targets towards zero waste.

Economic benefits of zero waste and recycling.

There are many economic advantages of a zero waste strategy and recycling. It is not just environmental organisations and waste swamped local authorities that are adopting zero waste strategies, many authorities are beginning to realise the benefits as well. Businesses of all sizes have used Zero Waste to improve productivity and increase profits.

Reusing waste is usually better than recycling, in terms of conserving energy and avoiding pollution, but can also generate economic benefits such as a creation of more jobs.

Recycling is a huge economic benefit as it saves lots of money. Taxes on landfill sites are rising continuously in order to reflect the scarcity of the land.