Cutting waste and recycling more with WRAP’s recyling programme

Wasting Opportunities to Recycle

The various initiatives aimed at encouraging more people to recycle waste materials often fall on deaf ears. Indeed, although the UK’s recycling habits have improved recently, the country as a whole remains some distance from meeting Government targets. Furthermore, a number of the UK’s European neighbours are recycling more than 50% of their waste according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Green Alliance, which published a paper towards the end of 2006 that placed Britain third from bottom on a list of the EU’s recycling nations. This reflects poorly on a country that is said to be capable of recycling up to 60% of all waste.

Thus, comparatively speaking, why is the UK only slowly warming to recycling trends? Why can The Netherlands recycle more than 65% of its waste but the UK is near the bottom of the heap? One leading theory suggests that UK or British consumers do not fully understand what can be recycled. Indeed, many plastic tubs, such as those containing butter, ice-cream and yoghurt, do not include the recycling symbol so many people assume they are unsuitable for recycling. However, the WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) has recently published findings that suggest most if not all plastic non-bottle containers can be recycled. This includes the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of plastic food packaging, for which there are limited recycling facilities available. Nevertheless, this is due to change for consumers as WRAP is launching a £2 million capital grant competition to improve the recycling supply chain, which ought to provide better opportunities for Brits to recycle more. The growing market in kitchen recycling bins – aimed at helping consumers sort their waste more easily – shows that many people are keen to recycle and would doubtless do more if it was made easier for them to do so.

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