Legislation or Information: How to Encourage the UK Population to Recycle - Case Study Example

Legislation or Information? How to Encourage the UK population to Recycle Introduction We have been facing several environmental problems due to the waste we generate through different processes. These include household, industrial, hospital, agricultural wastes etc. The only way to manage these wastes is to recycle or reuse or dispose these wastes in a safe manner. Recycling is the reprocessing of materials that would otherwise become waste in order to make them into new products. On the other hand reuse is collecting waste such as food containers to be cleaned, refilled and resold. Recycling prevents waste being landfilled or incinerated, reduces the consumption of new raw materials, and is advocated by supporters to require less energy than virgin production. Frequently recycled materials include glass, paper, aluminium, asphalt, steel, textiles and plastic. Recycling is a key concept of modern waste management and is the third component of the waste hierarchy (Wikipedia, 2006). This paper looks into the current facts about recycling in UK and the future prospects for recycling through legislation and creating awareness. Status of recycling in UK Estimate says that 400 million tonnes of waste are produced in the UK each year, a quarter of which is from households, commerce and industry. The rest is made up of construction and demolition wastes, mining and agricultural wastes, sewage sludge and dredged spoils. Most of these wastes ends up in landfill sites, but around 35% of industrial and commercial waste, along with just over 17% of household waste, is recycled or composted. According to the EU Landfill Directive it is essential to dramatically reduce, over the next 20 years, the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill. Municipal waste has been increasing at around 3% per annum which is slightly above GDP. If it continues to increase at this rate it will have doubled from the 1995 level by 2020 (DEFRA, 2006). If we look at the situation in England, about 29 million tonnes of municipal waste, 87% of which was household waste, was produced in 2003/04. Most waste ends up in landfill sites; only 19% of household waste is currently recycled or composted (The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2005). It is estimated that about 85,000 tonnes of waste plastic are generated on farms in England each year. Over 90% of holdings produce plastic waste, with packaging waste estimated to be about 21,000 tonnes and non-packaging plastic waste estimated at about 65,000 tonnes per year (Soil Association food and farming, 2004). Recycling initiatives Recycling is widely assumed to be environmentally beneficial, although the collection, sorting and processing of materials gives rise to some environmental impacts and energy use. Recycling not only saves resources such as metals, forests, oil etc – it also saves climate emissions, as recycling is generally more energy efficient than manufacturing from virgin materials. Recent studies conducted for the UK Government by the consultants ERM, and by a second UK study, carried out for the government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme concluded that: “UK recycling currently saves between 10-15 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases per year compared to other waste management options.” (Friends of the Earth Europe, 2006) Recycling awareness and education are now integral parts to meeting recycling targets. However, most of the population still have some questions such as what happens to the recycled material? How does it help the environment and what difference will it make? Answering these questions at a local level is necessary to create awareness and increasing public participation. For this purpose information in the form of brochures, print and visual media will be of good help. Recycling is widely assumed to be environmentally beneficial, although collecting, sorting and processing materials does give rise to environmental impacts and energy use. Table 1 summarises the current impact of recycling in the UK, compared with manufacture from raw materials (The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2005). Table: Impact of recycling Material % of household waste energy emissions raw material saved /tonne recycled Paper 18 28-70% less 95% less (air pollutants) --------- Glass 7 18% less 30% less 1.2 Plastic 7 up to 66% less ---------- 1.8 Cans (Fe) 3 70% less 86% less 2.0 Can (Al) 3 95% less 95% less 4.0 Source: www.wasteonline.org.uk Who is responsible for recycling? Sustainable development is the need of the hour and for this purpose every individual need to take part in waste reduction activities. The Government is responsible for implementing the Directives. In the UK, waste is a devolved matter so the devolved administrations are accountable for waste policy in their countries. For example, in England, Defra sets recycling targets to be met by each local authority. These are the only statutory waste targets; the national targets set out in the waste strategy are what the Government hopes will be achieved through the local targets. Local authorities have some flexibility in how they meet the targets and some have pooled their targets in order to reduce costs. Ultimately, though, household recycling rates depend on how consumers, retailers and producers act. In turn, this depends in part on the services available. The main legislative body behind household waste reduction is the 1999 EU Landfill Directive, which aims to prevent or reduce the environmental effects of landfilling waste. The Directive requires that the UK reduces the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill to 75% of 1995 levels, by 2010. The focus is on reducing the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill because it decays to produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Although household waste accounts for only 9% of total UK waste, a high proportion is landfilled and recycling rates are low. The Household Waste Recycling Act was introduced in 2003. It requires all English local authorities to provide kerbside collections for a minimum of two recyclable materials for all householders by 2010. Nearly all local authorities in England have schemes to recycle the largest fractions of recyclable household waste (paper/cardboard and glass), and 79% of households are now served by "kerbside" collection schemes. To improve recycling, the government established WRAP7 (Waste & Resources Action Programme) in 2001 to stimulate markets for recycled materials (The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2005). Legislation affecting waste Waste policy has a key role in resources policy, through creating a massive improvement in the efficiency of our use of resources, through maximising prevention, reuse, recycling and composting. It is essential that waste policy focus first on prevention of waste in general, and then on prevention of residual waste. Prevention of residual waste will involve an incremental process of examining this residual waste and examining what policy or other measures can be adopted in order to: (i) Prevent the production of this waste; or, if this is not possible, (ii) To make it reusable, recyclable or compostable (Friends of the Earth Europe, 2006). The European Union and the UK Government have recognized the need to reduce the amount of rubbish that is disposed of in landfills. Recent European legislation related to waste aims to manage waste safely, effectively and sustainably. Most UK legislation impacting on waste management is now implemented as a result of European Directives. The European Unions waste legislation comprises three main elements: horizontal legislation, legislation on treatment operations and legislation on specific waste streams. The horizontal legislation deals with establishing the overall framework for the management of wastes, including definitions and principles. The legislation on treatment operations is particularly for landfill or incineration, which may set technical standards for the operation of waste facilities. Legislation on specific waste streams looks into maters such as waste oil or batteries, which may include for example measures to increase recycling or to reduce hazardousness. The Waste Framework Directive has been implemented in the UK through the following national legislation: The Environmental Protection Act 1990 The Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 The Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (as amended) The Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) Regulations 1991 This legislation requires that anyone who treats, keeps, deposits or disposes of waste needs a waste management licence, which is issued by the Environment Agency. Waste management licences include conditions relating to operations at the site and the Environment Agency monitors activities to ensure compliance with the licence conditions. A key aim of the licensing system is to ensure that waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which harm the environment (Waste online, 2005). RFID Innovation: Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that enables the electronic labeling and wireless identification of objects using radio frequency. The purpose of these technologies is to identify and track people, animals, and goods. UK is planning to put microchips in bins which help councils charge for the weight of rubbish collected. The chips would carry information about which address the bin belonged to. The weight of rubbish in each bin would be measured by equipment installed in collection trucks. A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokeswoman said the government is looking at a "range of options" to help the UK meet tough European landfill reduction targets (Informationlibration, 2006). “Plastic is a material that features significantly in our increasingly throw-away society, with an annual growth rate of 4% in the UK. However, very little of this is recycled”, said Doreen Fedrigo, Waste Watch’s Research, Policy and Information Manager, “There is little incentive for companies, householders or local authorities to recycle plastic. Plastics in the UK economy highlights some of the ways that more plastic can be recycled immediately and in the longer-term” (Waste watch, 2006). Conclusion Organisations are required by law to have regard to the effect of all their processes, products and services on the health and safety of their employees and on the environment. This requirement has increasingly impacted on the management and development of people in recent decades. Health and safety training and the management of substances hazardous to health have become major organisational preoccupations. But increasingly, the application of the polluter-pays principle in public policy requires organisations to think about and pay for the waste and the life-cycle environmental costs of products and services. New commercial opportunities are being exploited, as a by-product of organisations experience of their own contribution to sustainable development (CIPD, 2006). The UK recycling industry must double to £25 billion by 2018 to meet current European Union targets. The Governments tough environmental targets and rigorous enforcement of European Union (EU) and UK regulations also act as a strong motivating factor to the development and growth of the environmental technology market. The UK Government aims to maintain the countrys lead in these fields and increase competitiveness and scientific excellence. It is pouring a massive amount of funding into science and research and has laid the foundations for a thriving environmental technology sector in which an increasing number of fund managers and venture capitalists are seeking to invest. £500 million was invested in early-stage UK private environmental companies in the period 2000 to 2005 and over £1 billion in clean technologies (UK trade & investment, 2006). Over the past several years sustainable development has grown as a concept, reflecting the growing need for economic activity to take account of, and where possible to contribute positively to the environment. Sustainable development implies much greater focus on resource conservation and on products and services that encourage recycling and the containment of waste, including harmful waste. The greatest environmental treat- global warming is only one of the major drivers for action. Insufficient response to this challenge is likely to have profound consequences for future generations. Finally, both information and legislation play important role in encouraging the UK population to recycle. References CIPD, (2006) Sustainable development: the people management dimension. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/corpstrtgy/corpsocres/sustdev.htm Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), (2006). Strategy & Legislation. Defra website. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/strategy/strategy_legislation.htm Friends of the Earth Europe, (2006). Creating a new waste policy: Promoting sustainability through innovation and efficient use of resources. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.foeeurope.org/publications/2006/Waste_Briefing_May2006.pdf Informationlibration, (2006) Bugged bins to promote recycling. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=15082 Soil Association food and farming, (2004). Agricultural plastics and other non-natural wastes – Recycling Services. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/psweb.nsf/B2/agricultural_plastics.html The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, (2005). Recycling Household Waste. The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, London. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.alphagalileo.org/images/postpn252.pdf UK trade & investment, (2006). Environmental technologies opportunities in the UK. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk/2/d/10104/en/GB/1.0.html Waste online, (2005). Legislation affecting waste. wasteonline website. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/Legislation.htm Waste watch, (2006) Plastics in the UK economy - major new report. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://www.wastewatch.org.uk/about/view_release.aspx?id=29 Wikipedia, (2006). Recycling. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 6 September 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling. Read More