By STEVE DOUGHTY Recycling: But where does it go? Millions of tons of rubbish carefully sorted into recycling bins by householders may never actually be recycled, town hall chiefs admitted. Many of the council bosses who impose compulsory recycling regimes on their residents have no idea what happens to the refuse after the dustcarts have collected it. They simply hand it over to contractors who never reveal where it goes and how it is disposed of. The admission by leaders of the Local Government Association, the umbrella body for councils, confirmed longstanding suspicions of critics, and brought protests from campaigners and pressure groups who have opposed the spread of fortnightly rubbish collections in the name of enforcing recycling and saving the environment. Doretta Cocks, of the Campaign for Weekly Waste Collection, said: 'This is a dreadful admission. People believe that whatever they put in their recycling bins is recycled - but in reality the councils can't cope. 'They do not abide by their own rules.' The LGA said that councils do not have powers to force contractors who take away waste to say where it is going. Its chief, Paul Bettison, told council leaders to 'review' where their recycled rubbish is going. He also appealed to the Environment Agency for new rules to compel contractors to discuss the destination of waste. LGA officials said 200 councils are certain of where rubbish sorted for recycling ends up. Another 20 have acknowledged they do not know. That leaves 135 councils which have not confirmed they know what happens to their rubbish. A number of councils have been caught sending carefully sorted material put out for recycling to landfill sites. Others use contractors who send waste to foreign and Third World countries. Turkey and China are leading destinations. Other consignments go to countries including Guinea, Ghana, Libya, Azerbaijan and Vietnam, where waste is supposed to be recycled but there are few checks on what is done with it. Latest figures on domestic rubbish collections show more than a third, 34 per cent, is recycled and ministers have proclaimed that Britain is on course to hit EU targets. However, the figure applies only to waste collected from homes. It does not cover what councils do with it.
How millions of tons of household rubbish collected for recycling disappears without a trace
Last updated at 1:47 AM on 05th September 2008
Friday, 5 September 2008
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Recycling regulations mean that, whatever happens to the rubbish in the end, at least jars and plastic food cartons have to be washed before being thrown out.
- CeliaD, London,UK, 5/9/2008 11:40
Yes, they are supposed to be washed - with water that is increasingly expensive for those using a water meter (OAP's). So we have fewer collections, spent all out time sorting and cleaning, the bills go up... and it all goes to landfill. Nice work if you can find it.
- M. O., London, 05/9/2008 11:45
The stuff all goes to China, where they make more stuff ,and sell it back to us.
I saw that on TV a couple of weeks ago.
- Ed, Illinois, 05/9/2008 11:41
Recycling regulations mean that, whatever happens to the rubbish in the end, at least jars and plastic food cartons have to be washed before being thrown out. This cuts down on the amount of smelly waste likely to attract rats and foxes, which are a growing problem in London. Of course there will always be those who object to doing this, but think of the binmen who have to collect it.