Britain tops landfill league and wins ‘Dustbin of Europe’ award

LGA news release - 12 November 2007

New figures revealed today shows that Britain is officially the 'dustbin of Europe' as it dumps more household waste into landfill than any other country in the European Union.

Research by the Local Government Association, a cross party organisation which represents councils in England, shows that in the most recent year where figures are comparable to EU countries, households in the UK sent more than 22.6million tonnes of rubbish to landfill. The figures also show that Britain sent the same amount of rubbish to landfill as the eighteen EU countries with the lowest landfill rates combined - despite having almost twice the population of the UK.

Council leaders will warn that an area the size of Warwick, which covers 109 square miles, is already taken up by landfill, and if the current trend continues it is estimated the country will run out of landfill space in less than nine years time.

The countries with the highest amount of household rubbish thrown into landfill for the most recent comparable year (2005) are:-

The UK which dumps around 22.6 million tonnes

Italy which dumps around 17.6 million tonnes

Spain which dumps around 14.2 million tonnes

France which dumps around 12 million tonnes

Poland which dumps around 8.6 million tonnes

While the amount of rubbish being thrown into landfill by Britain has declined markedly over the previous twelve months, European countries have also been drastically cutting the amount they send to landfill, leaving Britain still at the top of the rubbish heap.

Research recently published by the Local Government Association revealed up to 40 per cent of a regular household shopping basket cannot be recycled.

Local government leaders will warn that unless bold reforms are made by householders, shops, businesses and manufacturers - recycling rates will not rise fast enough to meet the EU Landfill Directive and help tackle climate change and will hit the pockets of taxpayers.

Councils, and consequently the taxpayer, are facing fines of up to £150 per tonne of rubbish that is sent to be dumped into landfill sites. According to the National Audit Office, fines of up to £200million could hit taxpayers for the failure to cut the amount that is thrown in landfills.

Cllr Paul Bettison, Chairman of the LGA Environment Board, said:

”Britain is the dustbin of Europe with more rubbish being thrown into landfill than any other country on the continent. For decades people have been used to being able to throw their rubbish away without worrying about the consequences. Those days are now over.

“There needs to be an urgent and radical overhaul of the way in which rubbish is thrown away. Local people, businesses and councils all have a vital role to play to protect our countryside before it becomes buried in a mountain of rubbish.

“An area the size of Warwick is already being used to dump Britain's rubbish and unless the ways of people and business change then the UK will run out of landfill space in less than nine years time. Reducing waste will also help cut carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

“Since 1997, local people, businesses and councils have worked tirelessly to boost recycling rates from seven percent to twenty seven percent. However, there is still far more that needs to be done if the taxpayer is going to be able to avoid the landfill fines that the EU and central government will impose in the coming years.

“The 'save-as-you-throw' powers should help to encourage people to take more responsibility for the way they throw their rubbish away. Councils want a power, not a duty, so authorities can decide what's best for their local areas. If councils introduce save-as-you-throw schemes, it will be to promote recycling, not to generate extra cash through an extra stealth tax.”

”Councils are on the frontline in the fight against climate change and are working hard to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, but ultimately we must make sure less waste is produced in the first place.”

ENDS

Author: LGA Media Office