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 Confusion continues to surround waste, recycling and treatment plants. AmeyCespa is determined to provide clear and honest information in order to answer any questions the public, local businesses or the council may have, and allay any concerns. Here we answer some of the more common questions which are often raised. Question: Doesn’t all landfilled waste decompose eventually anyway? Answer: No, it doesn’t. Landfills are designed so that very little oxygen or moisture flows through, meaning that decomposition of certain materials is very difficult. Landfills are not designed to break down waste, but rather to bury it. This design helps prevent decomposing materials from contaminating groundwater. Thus recycling creates more space in landfills and lessens the chance of waste spoiling our soil and water. Q: There is plenty of landfill space, so why bother recycling? A: The number of landfill sites open in the UK has decreased dramatically in recent years and is only set to decline further as alternative solutions are identified and developed. Recycling is largely responsible for averting the landfill crises, however the true value of recycling comes from preventing pollution and saving natural resources and energy, rather than saving landfill space. Landfills are one of the biggest sources of human-related methane emissions which are a potent cause of global warming, so it is important that we continue in our efforts to avoid sending waste to landfill.  Q. We recycle more than we used to – surely that’s good enough?A: Although recycling rates have increased in recent years, there is still much more we can do when it comes to recycling. We live in a wasteful society and households in England produce around 25.3 million tonnes of waste every year. Over half of this consists of recyclable garden waste, waste paper and cardboard, and kitchen waste, however only 34.5 per cent of this is recycled. To promote higher levels of recycling many local councils have introduced multiple kerbside collection schemes encouraging households to divide their waste further and make recycling easier. The Government has also taken some measures to increase recycling, such as increasing local authority recycling targets to 33 per cent by 2015, and increasing public awareness through the Recycle Now campaign. Q. What is recycled? A: In 2007/8, 8.7 million tonnes of material was collected from households for recycling in England , which included:
Metal recycling in the UK is high because of its high economic value. For example, aluminium cans are worth 6 to 20 times more than any other use packaging material. Producing metals from recycled materials also saves energy. It takes the same energy to make one new aluminum can as it does to make 20 recycled ones. Producing steel from recycled material saves 75 per cent of the energy needed to make steel from virgin material. Q: I have heard that waste is being landfilled rather than being recycled – is this true? A: No, this is not true. The vast majority of the material we collect for recycling is sent on for recycling. Only a very small amount of contamination, that sometimes has to be removed from the recyclable materials, is sent to landfill. Recycling is essential because we are running out of space in our landfill sites and cannot continue to bury waste unnecessarily. It is unlikely new landfill sites will be developed, because nobody wants a new landfill site developed near to their home. Landfilling is expensive and is increasing each year due to landfill tax. In most cases, recycling is a cheaper alternative to landfill.  Q: With all the machinery required to sort waste and the emissions of vehicles transporting the waste, is recycling still worthwhile? A: Yes, recycling is still very beneficial, in spite of the effort involved. Various studies have shown that when we recycle, we save more CO2 than is produced from the power required for the sorting machinery, and from the exhausts from vehicles transporting the waste. In addition, recycling saves the energy required to exploit raw materials and prevents possible pollution from landfills. Q: Are there enough markets for the material we collect? A: There are many existing markets for the material we collect; in particular there is a high demand for metals and paper. However, some markets are limited, such as those for plastic bottles, bottle tops and yogurt pots. These materials have to be collected and transported overseas for recycling, or not collected at all. Producing new materials through recycling is extremely important. The UK has to import huge amounts of raw materials to manufacture goods each year. The more we recycle, the less the UK has to import from around the world, thereby reducing the impact on the planet. A number of organisations are doing research into new uses for waste materials so new markets can be developed. Q: Some plastic is exported to China. Isn’t this environmentally damaging? A: At AmeyCespa we believe it is important to reduce, reuse and recycle as much of our waste as possible. Where we can we do this locally to reduce the impact of activities on the environment. Unfortunately, in the case of plastics, there are very few opportunities to recycle in the UK. This means we have to send this particular material to other countries, including China. WRAP – the leading authority on waste in the UK – has carried out a number of studies on sending waste to other countries for recycling. Overwhelmingly, it has found that because recycling is so advantageous, it makes more environmental sense to export waste to be recycled, rather than dumping it in landfill in the UK.  China has many large manufacturing industries, unlike the UK, and requires a lot of raw materials. China can use recycled plastics instead of producing new plastics from oil, which reduces pollution caused by oil extraction and refining. Due to a lack of exports from the UK to China, many Chinese container ships go home empty. The container ships produce CO2 emissions with or without cargo – if they are filled with recyclable material, transport emissions are cut to less than a tenth of the overall amount of CO2 that is saved by recycling. WRAP’s study revealed that 1300kg-1600kg of CO2 is saved for each tonne of waste exported to China that is recycled, resulting in a huge overall saving. Q: Recycling should pay for itself, shouldn’t it? A: Other forms of waste collection and treatment, such as landfill and incineration do not ‘pay for themselves’. Councils pay for waste collection and treatment from council tax, and private companies have to pay a direct charge depending on how much they throw away. In general, recycling is a cheaper form of waste management than other processes available for both councils and businesses. It also has other major financial benefits including, creating jobs (more jobs are created in recycling compared to other treatment and disposal methods), reducing imports, and saving natural resources for future generations. |
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