Tag: landfill

Britain’s crowning glory – tons of cheap plastic coronation souvenirs set to hit landfill

Britain’s disposable society to strike again with single-use party favours

Saturday May 6th is the big day as King Charles III is crowned at Westminster Abbey, and the party is expected to last until at least Monday, with one of three bank holidays that month.

And there’s one group of people not looking forward to the aftermath at all – those hardworking teams from the UK’s waste and recycling companies charged with clearing up after the celebrations.

UK waste collection company Divert.co.uk says the worst part is going to be separating the recyclable rubbish from the stuff going to landfill and warns there may be record amounts of the latter.

“Every bank holiday brings a spike in waste,” says Divert.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall, “But we think we might be up to our necks in plastic waste come the Tuesday after the party. It’ll be like Christmas and Easter rolled into one”

The coronation will be, for most of us, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it is a very good excuse for everybody to have a good time away from – well – everything else.

The bad news for the British economy is that every bank holiday costs the nation approximately £3.9 billion* in lost productivity.

The good news, however, is that each holiday gives small businesses such as shops, pubs and restaurants a modest boost to profits of around £250, while people spend approximately £500m on leisure activities.

And suffice to say that as well as the boozing, barbecues and endless coronation quiches, there is going to be astonishing levels of rubbish to go with it.

“It’s going to be the street party to end all parties,” says Divert.co.uk’s Mark Hall, and the big problem is going to be a complete collapse of recycling across households and businesses.

“Nobody thinks about recycling during a celebration, so everything is going to end up in the same bin bag; and that’s going to end up in landfill. What a waste.”

Christmas produces about 688,000 tonnes of waste but Divert.co.uk thinks the coronation will be Christmas and Easter rolled into one.

“Rolled into one, put in big plastic sacks, and dumped in a hole in the ground at your town or city’s landfill facility,” says Hall. “Three-quarters of a million tonnes? Not out of the question in today’s disposable society.”

And that’s before we consider the cheap coronation souvenirs.

All the cheap plastic rubbish you can carry

“All that plastic bunting, those Charles and Camilla face masks, cheap imported crowns, the whole nine yards,” says Mark Hall. “And the sad fact is that it’s all going to end up in the bin.”

If last year’s Platinum Jubilee is anything to go by, there’ll be no end of trashy souvenirs that won’t make it past the first car boot sale, or the first charity bag to come through the front door.

There are whole lists of these things on the internet – Queen and Corgi car air fresheners, Platinum Jubilee leggings, and no end of tat embossed with the unfortunate words “platty joobs” – and it’s highly doubtful whether much of this rubbish has either survived or been sensibly recycled.

“Thank the stars that ‘corribobs’ hasn’t caught on,” says Hall, “but the fact remains that a lot of souvenirs and bunting at the cheap end of the market will prove to be a tremendous waste of resources.”

As a country, we should be doing better, Divert says.

But with the coronation and its long weekend being an enormous hit of the UK economy, the tens of thousands of tonnes of extra waste to be dealt with, and the possibility and the horror of the gift of Charlie and Camilla boxer shorts, is it all worth it?

“Of course it is,” says Mark, “We need the burst of national pride, and we need a party. Get out there and enjoy yourselves. But remember to separate your recyclables, in the name of the King.”

Incineration contracts stopping Scots from recycling, says FoE Scotland

New research shows that Scotland’s incineration capacity is so high that it is likely to stop councils from recycling waste. Campaigners are calling for a ban on new incinerators so that councils focus on reducing and recycling waste, rather than sending it up in smoke.

The Scottish Government set up an independent review into incineration which is currently taking place. As part of this, the reviewers have researched whether existing and planned incineration capacity matches Scotland’s projected waste levels.

It shows that if Scotland meets its recycling targets, by next year we will already have more incineration capacity than we need. Even if we make no progress towards these targets, there will still be overcapacity by 2026.

The 2025 ban on sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill means councils have had to find some other way to dispose of waste. Rather than attempting to reduce the waste through recycling and other measures, councils have signed up to expensive and lengthy incineration contracts.

It is now emerging that the amount of waste councils have agreed to supply is greater than the waste available. This means to fulfil their contracts, councils must supply huge amounts of waste to be burnt, instead of focusing on reducing and recycling.

Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:
“The Scottish Government has unwittingly created the perfect conditions for waste management companies to make as much money as possible from keeping Scotland’s waste levels high. The ban on biodegradable waste to landfill means councils have sought alternative waste management solutions in a hurry.

“Councils have panicked and signed up to contracts that now create a conflict of interests. They are faced with choosing between helping residents reduce and recycle their waste and fulfilling the incineration contracts. Through a lack of strategic thinking, the Government and councils have ensured Scotland’s recycling targets are now much harder to achieve.

“It’s vital we stop burning our valuable resources if we are to bring down the consumption levels that are wrecking the planet. We need to see an end to new incinerators being built in Scotland, and an immediate ban on burning plastics.”

This overcapacity problem is evident at a local level, as well as a national one. Three councils in the North East of Scotland, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils, have signed a joint contract to build and supply a privately run incinerator. The NESS Energy Project is due to start operating later this year.

The incinerator has been built to take 150,000 tonnes of waste. The Environmental Statement for the project shows this was based on the amount of residual waste generated from the councils in 2016 when planning permission was granted.

However, data from SEPA shows that, even before the plant has opened, there will not be enough household residual waste to supply the plant. The 20-year contracts mean these councils will be looking for more material to burn, rather than supporting residents to reduce and recycle waste.

Scotland is now burning almost as much of its household waste as it is sending to landfill. Household waste statistics published in December show a 33.6% increase in waste being incinerated between 2019 and 2020 – that’s an extra 152,000 tonnes burnt in one year.

As well as burning valuable resources, incinerators contribute to climate change by emitting greenhouse gases from the waste they burn.

To find out more visit: www.foe.scot/campaign/plastic-pollution/incineration/

Dental care recycling scheme implemented in Edinburgh

SOME household dental care products can now be disposed responsibly in Edinburgh after Scotland’s largest dental group introduced a breakthrough scheme to divert waste from landfill.

Bellstane Dental Case in South Queensferry, Earl Grey Dental Practice, Gilmore Dental and Fairmilehead Dental Practice & Implant Centre, all based in the capital, have joined Philips’ Dental Care Recycling Programme, in partnership with TerraCycle®, the world leaders in recycling “hard-to-recycle” waste with patients and practices from the Highlands to the Scottish Borders benefiting. 

The practice is part of Clyde Munro Dental Group, which is introducing the scheme north of the border to 48 of its 51, (the scheme is currently unable to collect from Orkney), reaching more than 360,000 patients – making it the biggest introduction of the programme in Scotland.

As well as used electric toothbrush heads and covers, it recycles the “non-recyclable”, including plastic floss holders, floss containers, electric flosser nozzles and interdental brushes from all brands. 

Fiona Wood, Chief Operating Officer with Clyde Munro, said: “Household dental waste has long been problematic, in that you can’t recycle it in the usual way from home.

“It means plastic inevitably going to landfill, because there wasn’t an alternative option. With Terracycle, through our partnership with Philips, we now have that solution.

“We hope that our patients will embrace this – and help us do everything we can to reduce our footprint.”

TerraCycle® programmes allow consumers to send in traditionally non-recyclable products and packaging free of charge, which is then recycled into a format that is used to make new products.

The participating Clyde Munro practices will all offer a collection point within their reception area for patients to drop off dental care products at their next scheduled appointment.

As a further benefit, the practices will receive a charitable donation from TerraCycle® depending on the weight of the recycled material, with all that money donated to Clyde Munro’s partner charity, Alzheimer Scotland, or a local charity of each practices’ choice.

Clyde Munro was founded by Jim Hall in 2015 with the acquisition of seven practices. Since then, it has enjoyed rapid growth through acquisition and has plans to continue expanding. It now comprises 51 practices across Scotland, with more than 430,000 patients and 400 staff.

New recycling service drives down landfill

50% increase in recycling ‘heartening’

Lesley Hinds Ward 5 Inverleith Ward

A redesigned recycling service in Edinburgh is reducing the volume of rubbish being sent to landfill, new figures show. Residents using the new kerbside service have seen a 30% reduction in landfill waste, with homes now binning an average of 5kg a week compared to 7kg before the change.

Recycling has also increased in areas with the new service, and has risen from approximately 2kg to 3kg per week, a 50% increase.

Almost 20,000 households changed to the new collection service – which aims to simplify recycling, expanding capacity for different materials – in September and 17,000 more homes will receive the service, which will be rolled out in phases to 140,000 properties in total over the next year.

Environment Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, (above) said: “These figures are extremely heartening and demonstrate the impact the new service is bound to have on recycling in the city.
“There is no doubt we need to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill, and I am confident that the public will help us to achieve this, as the first phase of the roll-out has shown.
“As we introduce the service to more and more households, we will continue to learn from the process, making every effort to help people adjust to the changes.”
New grey bins will begin being delivered to phase two homes this week. On householders’ start date, their existing green wheelie bin will be emptied of general waste for the last time before being used for recycling. Blue boxes will still to be used for glass as well as small electrical items and food and garden recycling will continue as normal.
It is hoped increasing space and capacity for mixed recycling will support the Council’s pledge to recycle 70% of the city’s waste by 2025.
Juliet Shields, who lives in Craigentinny with her husband Colin and five-year-old son Conor, began using the new recycling service in September, and says it has changed her attitude to recycling.
She said: “Before the new service I didn’t recycle very much, so when I saw it was happening I thought ‘I’m going to have to get on top of this’. I’ve found the new service great – there’s so much more stuff we can get rid of, it just seems much better to me now.
“I’ve become a lot more aware of the importance of recycling having a son too, and I want to set him a good example. I think people are very enthusiastic about the new bins and system and for me it works really well.”
Joyce Grieve, who lives in Restalrig with her husband Derek and seven-week-old son Christopher, also began using the new service in September.
She said: “I love recycling, so I was doing it already – I don’t like to throw things away that we don’t need to. But I really like the new service, I love the fact we’ve got a bigger recycling bin now. Having a little one we’ve had a lot of boxes and presents and it’s great to be able to put it in a place where we can recycle them.”
As well as providing environmental benefits, increasing recycling rates can save the Council millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money spent on landfill costs.
Visit the recycling pages on the Council website for more information.