You are here : Home » Other » Eco Guidance » EcoScope » UK is poorest recycler in Europe

UK is poorest recycler in Europe

4 Comments
Posted on September 17, 2010 by ecoadmin 

Pay-as-you-go bin tagging is one solution

Recent research from Eurostat shows that the UK has one of the poorest recycling records in Europe, writes Marie-Françoise Glotz, vice president, Industry and Logistics Identification Solutions for HID Global. The UK recycles just 23% of its municipal waste and sends more waste to landfills than any other country in Europe.

In just over a week, the UK produces enough rubbish to fill Wembley stadium – over half of which can be recycled. And at current rates of waste disposal Britain will hit its landfill limit in 2018.

All the figures point to one thing, the UK is on a crash course with a new waste reality – too much rubbish, too little space. The UK creates an alarming amount of waste on a daily basis and fails to recycle as much as it could. If targets to reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfills are not met soon, taxpayers are likely to face huge financial penalties either for recycling non-compliance and/or for waste deposition.
With costs rising at all points in the waste management process, shrinking landfill space, and growing consumer interest in recycling, RFID (radio frequency identification) technology – is playing a growing role in enabling cities and towns around the world to develop effective recycling processes and improve the efficiency of their waste operations.

So how does this technology work in practice? It starts with an RFID tag attached to the rubbish bin. Typically, the unique ID number of a tag is associated with a bin and the bin owner’s address in a database. A reader/antenna is embedded into the rubbish or recycling collection lorry which captures the tag’s ID as each receptacle is emptied. Data collected from the tags, which can be linked with a time stamp, lets operators monitor sorting quality, track the number of times a container is set out for collection and track the weight of its contents.
In the UK, consumer rubbish collection is managed by the local council, and recycling is largely left up to the individual. However, in many countries it is run by private companies and households pay for their service by the weight of their rubbish. Forward-thinking countries are using the data that the RFID technology generates to incentivise the public to recycle.

image of bins
By tagging bins, operators can weigh rubbish and this brings accountability so that consumers that diligently recycle can become eligible for rebates. Ireland’s AMCS Group for example has created an RFID-based solution that enables rubbish to be weighed as it is loaded into the truck and the data is then logged for that household. The incentive lies in the fact that households do not pay for the recycling that is collected, only for landfill waste, so the more consumers recycle, the less they pay.

Photo shows: Marie-Françoise Glotz

More information: www.hidglobal.com

Rating 2.00 out of 5

This entry was posted in EcoScope, Environment and tagged , , ,


4 Responses to “UK is poorest recycler in Europe”

  1. ecoadmin says:

    September 17th, 2010 at 8:22 am
     

    For UK householders to make a direct payment for rubbish collection rather goes against the grain. It could lead to clandestine rubbish movement around the neighbourhood as households transfer their leftovers to other peoples’ bins!

  2. Mike says:

    September 20th, 2010 at 9:11 am
     

    Defra’s statistics indicate:
    •There was an increase in the national household recycling rate, from 34.5% in 2007/8 to 37.6% in 2008/9.
    •Less municipal waste was sent to landfill, decreasing from 15.5 in 2007/8 to 13.8 million tonnes, or 50.3% of total municipal waste, in 2008/9.
    •Total municipal waste decreased by 1.2 million tonnes, or 4.1%, from 28.5 million tonnes in 2007/8 to 27.3 million tonnes in 2008/09. A decrease in total household waste was also observed, from 25.3 to 24.3 million tonnes.
    •The average residual household waste per head decreased from 324kg per head in 2007/8 to 295 kg per head in 2008/9.
    http://www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/environment/wastats/bulletin09.htm

  3. ecoadmin says:

    September 24th, 2010 at 8:28 am
     

    Thanks Mike, we have gone back to the source of this article to get a response.

  4. Marie-Francoise says:

    September 24th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
     

    There is a clear progress being made from both the householders and the government.

    More bags, bins are being distributed to villages and it is a matter of discipline for all to deal with their waste.

    It is never easy to find a solution to suit all but the data provided above shows progress so we must be heading in the right direction.

Reply