In the UK, what percentage of materials collected separately for recyling are actually reused?

October 29, 2007 8:34 AM

In the UK, what percentage of material that you're supposed to put in the orange recycling bags actually ends up getting recycled? I've read stories that one of the reasons for separating out tins/certain plastics/paper is because regulations about exporting these to other countries for dumping are more lax. I've not been able to find any hard numbers, are there any statistics (probably per-material) available?

Information for any part of the country is welcome, but specifically west London.

posted by fvw to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

From the little bit I read about your program it sounds just like the Blue Bag program in Chicago. According to the department of Streets & San there's a 23% recycling rate with the blue bag program. There have been rumblings about the city cooking the books but that's not unexpected here. I'd say cut the number in half and you have the true rate.
posted by @homer at 9:07 AM on October 29, 2007

I'm not clear what you're trying to figure out. For instance, for newspapers, do you want to know what percentage of the newspapers collected as part of the orange bag scheme actually get recycled as opposed to going into landfill; or do you want to know what percentage of householders put their newspapers into the orange bag as opposed to black sack collection. If it's the latter, have a look at the MORI reports for Recycle Western Riverside.
posted by boudicca at 10:20 AM on October 29, 2007

Response by poster: I'm looking for the former boudicca, so how much of the stuff that is put in the orange bag (and belongs there) gets recycled.
posted by fvw at 10:43 AM on October 29, 2007

Yeah, I'd like to know that too. If recyclable material is really worth something, then why won't the local districts collect from businesses? And if it all is going to end up in a landfill anyway, then running a separate fleet of trucks first is just a costly exercise in environment theatre.
posted by happyturtle at 1:47 PM on October 29, 2007

It's probably theater.

Here's an interesting podcast on recycling: Mike Munger on EconTalk. And a followup.

In the simplest terms: if someone is paying you for something you're getting rid of, it's a resource. If you have to pay someone to get rid of something, it's garbage. Paying someone to get rid of something includes paying taxes for your local sanitation department to maintain a recycling program, which may be OK if someone is willing to pay your local government money for the stuff collected in the recycling program.

I'm under the impression that green glass from wine bottles is "garbage" in Britain.
posted by chengjih at 3:35 PM on October 29, 2007

Poke about here: Recycle Now. Especially the Facts section. It's all spin, and suspiciously light on facts and figures surrounding your question, but you might find something.

The actual answer really depends on your local council, they all do different things with their rubbish, so if you really want to know, ask them. They will be selling it to someone, but what that person does with it is another matter...

God, I'm cynical.

But let's be less cynical.... let's google What happens to my recycling in the UK.
posted by Helga-woo at 4:28 PM on October 29, 2007

You can find out the specifics for your area dead easily. Simply email your council - there will be an address on their website - and ask. Include your postal address and be quite specific in the information you request. They will be legally obliged to respond within 20 working days under the Freedom of Information Act. If they don't you can take them to the Information Commissioner (who are sadly crap and slow).

The shorter answer is, it depends on the type of recyclate. There's a good market for stuff like glass and metals - less so for plastics and composted food waste. A lot of it will end up going overseas for recycling, simply because in many cases that's where the market is (i.e. China).
posted by prentiz at 5:18 PM on October 29, 2007

Also even if there isn't a market now one of the goals of these programs if often to create a market by being able to supply a constant stream of recycleables. I've been involved in a recyclable where we went from being paid to take a product away; through only being able to get the waste product for free; all the way to finally having to pay for the waste product. Because we were paid essentially the same during this period by the manufacturers who needed the feedstock profit margins were a lot better at the beginning than at the end.
posted by Mitheral at 8:14 PM on October 29, 2007