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Recycling con: Millions of tons end up in landfill as officials admit success is exaggerated
- Most managers at plants that recycle rubbish for industrial use say that at best ‘some’ of the waste sent to them is usable
- Official figures show 43 per cent of household waste is now recycled
- Recycling has now levelled off and amounts of rubbish sent to incinerators is going up
Millions of tons of rubbish carefully sorted by families for recycling has been buried in landfill.
After years of denials, officials admitted yesterday that much of the waste councils claim to have recycled is turned away by depots.
A paper from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs revealed that most managers at plants that recycle rubbish for industrial use say that at best ‘some’ – and in other cases ‘hardly any’ – of the waste sent to them is usable.
Millions of tons of rubbish: Waste carefully sorted by families for recycling has been buried in landfill as officials admitted that much of the wast councils claim to have recycled is turned away by depots
The news confirms the fears of many householders – forced to comply with fortnightly collection rules and bin police regulations – that the painstaking recycling process ends when the dustmen have finished their round.
The abolition of weekly rubbish rounds for half the country in favour of fortnightly collections began eight years ago, supposedly to reduce landfill and carbon emissions. Many families must now sort their rubbish into several different bins, and official figures show 43 per cent of household waste is now recycled – around three million tons a year – up from just over 30 per cent seven years ago.
However, recycling has now levelled off and amounts of household rubbish sent to power-generating incinerators are going up.
Now it has emerged that the level of rubbish that is recycled has been exaggerated. The admission comes in a ‘quality action plan’ from Defra, which is under the control of Environment Secretary Owen Paterson.
Philosophers stone – selected views from the boat
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2013-02-09 06:30:10
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