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Tuesday, 13 November 2007 |
UK described as 'dustbin of Europe'
Britain is the "dustbin of Europe" and could run out of landfill space within nine years as UK households dump more rubbish than any other EU country, figures have revealed. The Local Government Association (LGA) says the UK dumped 22.6 million tons of household waste in 2005, more than the bottom-ranked 18 countries combined. Britain has dedicated an area the size of Warwick - 109 square miles - exclusively to landfill and will run out of space for dumping in less than a decade if current trends continue.
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The stark warning came from the Local Government Association, who said the UK sent more than 22.6 million tons to landfill in 2004-5, which are the most recent dates comparable with the rest of Europe. This contrasted with 17.6 million tons from Italy, Spain which dumps 14.2 million tons, 12 million tons from France and Poland which dumps 8.6 million tons.
 Paul Bettison, from the LGA Environment Board, said: "Britain is the dustbin of Europe with more rubbish being thrown into landfill than any other country on the continent. For decades people have been used to being able to throw their rubbish away without worrying about the consequences. Those days are now over. There needs to be an urgent and radical overhaul of the way in which rubbish is thrown away. Local people, businesses and councils all have a vital role to play to protect our countryside before it becomes buried in a mountain of rubbish."
England recycled or composted more than 30 per cent of household waste in 2006-7, compared to 27 per cent in 2005-6. Mr Bettison welcomed the figures but warned that more needed to be done to avoid being penalised by the EU Landfill Directive.
"It is encouraging to see people doing their bit by recycling more and reducing this country’s reliance on landfill," he said. "It is pleasing to see our recycling rates exceed 30 per cent for the first time, but the fact remains other countries on the continent are still recycling up to twice as much. Councils and council tax payers are still facing fines of up to £3 billion if we do not dramatically reduce the amount of waste thrown into landfill, and so it is vital we look at alternatives to the status quo."
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs acknowledged the need to do more. He said: "We still lag behind much of Europe and we cannot afford to be complacent. We need to keep raising our performance if we are to meet future challenging landfill targets." |
