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Refuse Collection: England Now Recycles More

Top Quote More and more UK households are recycling, news which is welcomed by private waste collection company, Waste Concern. End Quote
  • (1888PressRelease) May 24, 2011 - England is currently recycling more of its household waste than ever before, according to the latest figures from Defra. They recently released data showing that for the three months up to September 2010, 40.3% was composed of recyclables. Over the year, the rubbish collection recycling rate was provisionally estimated at 40.1%, up from 38.8%. There was also more good news for the environment. The overall amount of rubbish council refuse collection services have to pick up is also falling right across the country.

    Defra's figures indicate that between council and other initiatives, more households are now actively practicing recycling on a day to day basis. The recycling figure for council refuse collection services between July and September 2010 was even higher, at 43%. The UK is currently bound by an EU Directive setting a household waste recycling target of 50% by the year 2020. Independent rubbish collection company Waste Concern have collected household waste since 2007. Their spokesman pointed to a groundswell of support for recycling:

    "There is more awareness of the need and benefits of recycling than ever before. People understand they can very easily help the environment and so they want to take part. At the same time, councils have set their own targets. It's been a real grassroots movement and we've seen this in our customer feedback over the years. We ourselves use a one bin system to help people recycle more easily and it's proved hugely popular".

    Alongside more recycling, there has been a drop in the volume of waste households are throwing away. Defra figures show that by June 2010, the nation threw away 23.6 million tonnes of household rubbish. The latest figures for the year to September 2010 show a remarkable drop down to 23.4 million tonnes. Over the 5 years leading to 2009-2010, the amount had reduced by 1.6%.

    Waste Concern's spokesman said:
    "Its good news that there is less waste clogging up landfills and also more of it heading to recycling plants, where it can be usefully re-used. There are still times when people need more rubbish collected than their council is allowed to take. We know this from the popularity of our collections between council services, especially where the council only collects once a fortnight. But the downward trend is still positive overall, which can only help the environment and ease the pressure on the UK's landfill sites".

    In 2008, council leaders announced that the UK is predicted to run out of landfill space if current household waste rates continued without any type of remedial intervention. At the time the UK was sending around 19 million tonnes of household rubbish to landfills every year. This was the highest figure among European nations. The rise in recycling rates therefore represents a step forward in tackling the problem.

    Householders interested in the one bin private rubbish collection service from Waste Concern can become a customer by calling the team on 0845 055 9965 or visiting the website at http://www.wasteconcern.com.

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