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£8bn waste rubbish revolution |
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· UK faces 'rude shock' over cost of refuse disposal
· Recycling rules baffle councils and public
Over the past 10 days binmen have collected about 3m tonnes of unwanted
Christmas presents, packaging and cards, around 750m glass bottles and
some 500m cans, as well as tens of thousands of tonnes of uneaten food. They have thrown almost all of it into holes in the ground. But the largest waste company has warned that the days of dumping waste into landfill sites are about to end, at huge extra cost to government, business, local authorities and families.
Peter Jones, a director of Biffa which collects the waste of more than 50 local authorities, says: "We expect it to cost Britain £5-8bn to deliver an 80% diversion from landfill. Everyone is in for a rude shock."
Last month the Department of Trade and Industry was embarrassed for the third time in 18 months when it again delayed implementing the European Waste electric and electronic directive, claiming industry was not ready. The laws, expected to come into force this year, will force manufacturers to take back and recycle everything from toasters and televisions to computers and mobile phones.
Within a year other laws will require all vehicles and batteries to be recycled, and even shredded tyres will be stopped from going to landfill. The EU is proposing a "life cycle thinking" approach to all materials, which means looking at their environmental impact across their entire life cycle.
Read more about the mess and lack of coordination at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1677966,00.html |
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