Recession-hit UK Struggles to Manage its Recyclable Waste
In the time of recession we must try to use our resources efficiently, save as much as possible and reuse and recycle whatever we can. British households are trying to do exactly that, segregating wastes into as many as five different groups so as to help the city councils recycle the waste easily. Instead the councils are dumping anywhere between 10 to 30 percent of recyclable waste to landfills and incinerators. That’s wasting some very useful waste.
After inspiring and appealing to homeowners to do their bit for the environment by separating the waste generated at their homes, the city councils are struggling to recycle the wastes and selling them to the manufacturing and reprocessing sectors because of lower demand during this economic downturn. As a result, the recyclable waste is literally going waste as it is either dumped into the ground or burnt - adding to the rising carbon emissions instead of cutting them.
While claiming that they are trying to recycle as much waste as possible, various city councils in Britain are dumping or burning 10 percent or more of the recyclable wastes. The revelations have invited criticism from green groups and have also allowed the opposition parties to question Labor government’s green credentials.
This is a very serious issue, especially now in the times of economic slowdown, because, one, resources are being wasted and, second, those usable resources are being burnt thereby increasing the carbon emissions and thus negating the very purpose of recycling. The concern is now that how the councils would deal with the enormous amount of waste generated during the Christmas celebrations which would include cardboard boxes and gift papers.
There is one bit of news that seriously questions the government’s intentions and eagerness to solve this issue. The British government has pledged £100 million to invest in protecting rain forests in Africa and South America. This fund will help Britain offset its carbon emissions and help achieve the emissions cut goal set by European Union for 2020. The opponents of this approach claim that it’s just an eyewash and it would be better if Britain cuts emissions at source that is its own emissions.
The government is seemingly failing to control emissions at home and looking to offset them by investing in projects elsewhere. The government should look for ways to stop the recyclable waste from ending up in incinerators or landfills. It should look to devise methods so that energy could be tapped from waste because it is not just a matter of clean environment but also energy efficiency and resource management which need to be urgently addressed under the current scenario.
Image source: kingdesmond1337 at Flickr under Creative Commons License.
