Bold stuff coming from the UK.
Yesterday, the Secretary of State for the Environment Hilary Benn announced plans to turn Britain into a zero waste nation. Eventually.
Benn pointed to a goal of diverting 75 percent of household waste from landfill by 2019. In addressing food waste, Benn alluded to the fast-progressing (in the UK) anaerobic digestion:Â
We need to rethink how we view and treat waste in the UK. Why do we send valuable items like aluminium and food waste to landfill when we can turn them into new cans and renewable energy?
That’s an important question, considering the volume of waste. As noted at the way bottom of the same link, the average UK home discards £400 of good food annually.Â
Despite speculation from this less-than-enthusiastic site, there were no specifics on when food may be banned outright from landfills, but a confirmation that it’s in the works:
“Why do we allow food waste, wood, cans, paper and glass to go into landfill at all when we already know there are other ways in which they can be used?” [Benn] said. “Banning landfill of those products is going to be the next stage.”
In any case, this is all exciting doings. The one downside–the possibility of five, count ’em–five, roller bins.
UPDATE: It looks like Benn and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will release a study on how a landfill ban would work in early November.
Comments
3 responses to “Waste Revolution (coming soon)”
We call them Wheelie Bins here, fabulous site this for semantics! What can be recycled in the U.K depends upon your local authority, not the centralised bureaucracy mentioned in the less than enthusiastic site. We are a free people and clearly feel free to chuck a lot of rubbish. Perhaps we can build a new island on top of it and sail away from the deadly grip of central government!
In the Staffordshire Moorlands where we are (and providing you live in a normal house and not a lock keeper’s cottage like us) you have three wheelie bins. A brown one for ALL food and garden waste. A grey one for recyclable plastics,aluminium,glass and paper. And a landfill bin.
Thanks for the insight!
Indeed, I love the term ‘wheelie bin.’ Although it does have that pesky ‘ie’ ending…
I was gonna suggest that food and yard waste be mixed to reduce the number of said bills. I’m guessing, though, that they want to keep these materials separate if they’re sending the stuff to an anaerobic digester. You could digest both, but the food has a much higher energy content.
Ha! You got me on the ‘ie’, it’s a fair cop guv!
Currently our authority is composting all food and garden waste together. This scheme has been operating for almost three years now and I am hoping we will soon be able to buy compost back at a fairly cheap price.
The system is working well as it is I think. Anaerobic digesters will require a great deal more investment, which means in turn higher local taxation. It’s one of those decisions local councils don’t like having to make – oh, unless they’re pushed by central government!