WRAP chief executive Liz Goodwin has said that England looks set to miss the 50 per cent recycling target, but should not let it happen.
Writing in her blog on the WRAP website, she said that the recently published recycling rate of 44.2 per cent in England for 2013 was “disappointing” as it was only an increase of 0.1 per cent on the previous year.
She added: “[The recycling figures] support the view that many in the sector have been worrying about for some time – that we look increasingly likely to miss the 50 per cent recycling rate in 2020.
“We really can’t let this happen. I know there are lots of people out there who care about this. It’s not just about the target, it’s also the valuable resources that are lost from the economy and the missed opportunity in terms of new jobs and investment in the reprocessing sector. We estimate that in England, we need to recycle another 1.7 million tonnes to reach the 50 per cent recycling rate – that’s a lot.
“It means everyone needs to do more – central Government, local authorities, the retailers and brands, organisations like WRAP and all of us as householders.
“However, I realise I’m saying this at a time when local authorities and central Government are under extreme budgetary pressure and there are many other things which they need to worry about.
“Something needs to change – to change the drivers and get momentum back into recycling.”
She added that clearer signals are needed that this is important. Additionally, she called for more consistency in collection infrastructure as the current system leads to confusion “and must reduce the quality of material collected as a result”.
In her blog, Liz Goodwin also said that more investment is needed in infrastructure including more separate weekly food waste collections and smarter communications for households.
To read the blog in full, visit http://www.wrap.org.uk/node/25283
