24 November, 2014
UK to be penalised for not using enough paper
There’s a lot of debate at the moment regarding the UK and the EU, it’s a hot debate that will probably ramble on for a few…years. One of the privileges of being part of the EU is that we as a nation have to meet certain targets when it comes to recycling – which is great.
Unfortunately the UK has failed to hit these targets and faces millions of pounds of fines from the EU. Rightly so, you would say? Well, it appears we have failed to hit the paper recycling target because we as a nation have cut down on using paper! So rather than being rewarded for our achievements we might instead face a hefty fine!
Official figures released this month (November 2014) show that household waste recycling rates in England stagnated last year, at 44.2%, barely changed from 44.1% in 2012. If the UK fails to achieve 50% by 2020 then we may be liable to a £500,000 a day fine, this is according to some estimates.
People in the industry, people in the know, say it is looking unlikely that the UK will hit this 50% target. One of the main reasons given was a decline in the weight of paper and packaging being used, as consumers switched to reading online and bought food products with less wasteful packaging. Bravo us right?
Recycling rates are measured by weight. That means if your typical UK household cuts down on paper and packaging waste and switches from heavy glass to lighter plastic, their recycling rate will fall – even though they are not actually throwing any more rubbish away in the waste.
Philip Davies MP commented: “This is the ludicrous situation you get yourself in when you set arbitrary targets: you don’t take into account people’s changing behaviours. It seems to me it would be completely idiotic if we were to be fined for being a victim of our own success.”
Consumer habits are changing and when setting these targets the EU and the UK did not take into account how our habits may impact the recycling industry.