Recycling campaign launched
September 27, 2004
A multi-million pound effort to persuade Britons to get serious about recycling is being launched today.
With the UK still lagging far behind many other developed countries when it comes to managing waste, the Government has spent £40m to boost recycling rates and change attitudes to rubbish.
A new ad campaign, fronted by the Olympic rowing champion Matthew Pinsent and comedian Eddie Izzard, will feature old cans, glass bottles and paper being transformed into new, everyday items through recycling.
The Government has warned that with a target of a quarter of all household waste being either composted or recycled by 2005-06, there are tough challenges ahead. Figures published last month show that two years ago, household recycling and composting had increased to 14.5%.
The environment minister, Elliot Morley, said the new campaign would help to increase the recycling effort.
"Recycling is easier than it has ever been, and it is improving all the time," he said. "Five years ago, kerbside collection schemes covered only 40% of homes. Today, more than two in three homes have kerbside collection schemes and there is an ever expanding network of 'bring' sites at your local supermarket and other convenient areas.
"We need to reduce the amount of waste we generate. It is time to stop thinking of waste as rubbish. So much of the waste we generate could be reused, recycled and transformed from a problem into an asset."
A quarter of all emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas, comes from landfill sites. The Government says less reliance on landfill and more attention to recycling will save resources and reduce the environmental impact.
It is estimated that every tonne of glass recycled saves more than a tonne of raw materials. It also saves energy and means less quarrying, less damage to the countryside, and less pollution and global warming.
Friends of the Earth has welcomed the campaign but says much more could be done.
This story was first carried on the Guardian website.
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