UK – Government urges people to recycle

Environment Minister Elliot Morley has urged householders and businesses to recycle now and more often as he gave his backing to a major new multi-million pound recycling campaign being launched today by the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP), with support from Defra.



The new campaign – Recycle Now – is the biggest ever to get England recycling and will be spearheaded by a £10 million multi-media advertising campaign. Defra have provided more than £30 million in funding to help get the word out. Four times Olympic champion Matthew Pinsent will be fronting the campaign and popular comedian and actor Eddie Izzard will be providing the voice-overs for the television adverts, which will feature metal cans, glass bottles and paper being transformed into everyday items through recycling. A new distinctive recycling icon has also been unveiled to provide a clear, generic public call to action.



Commenting on the new campaign, Elliot Morley said: “This is an excellent campaign and it will help to push the country‘‘s recycling effort to a higher level.



“Recycling is easier then it has ever been before – and it is improving all the time. It‘‘s a way every individual can help the environment each day. Five years ago, kerbside collection schemes covered only 40% of homes. Today, more than 2 in 3 homes have kerbside collection schemes and there is an ever expanding network of ‘‘bring‘‘ sites at your local supermarket and other convenient areas near your home.



“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.”



Recycling helps the environment in more than one way. A quarter of all of our emissions of methane – a major greenhouse gas, 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide – comes from landfill sites. Less reliance on landfill and more recycling will preserve resources for future generations and reduce environmental impacts. For example, every tonne of glass recycled saves more than a tonne of raw materials. That means less quarrying, less damage to the countryside, less pollution and global warming, and more energy savings.



Last month new figures published by the Environment Minister revealed that two years ago household recycling and composting had increased to its highest level ever of 14.5%. It is expected that England will meet its target to recycle 17% of household waste, the first time such a national target will have been met. However, with a target of a quarter of all household waste to be either composted or recycled by 2005/06 there are tough challenges ahead.