New recycling goals set by EU
Wednesday, July 15, 2015 - 13:00:33
European Union nations may be forced to meet new recycling targets which require at least 70 per cent of all waste to be recycled. That's if the European Parliament’s demands for more stringent regulations are met, according to the Telegraph.
At the moment, UK has a goal of recycling 50 per cent of its waste by the year 2020 and, as observers have pointed out, it may struggle to reach this.
The introduction of these rules might mean that governments and local authorities would have to create their own set of penalties, to ensure that more households do recycle waste items, rather than sending them to landfill.
It has been suggested that penalties for disposing of rubbish in black bin liners, or the more passive approach of introducing smaller bins for collection, could be suitable solutions, even if this means that people in the UK and elsewhere may have to alter their waste habits even further.
The new recycling target of 70 per cent is not likely to be introduced until 2030, coming a decade after the 50 per cent minimum rate, set for 2020.
There are even suggestions that landfill sites should be closed altogether, to incentivise a recycling-centric approach to waste products. And there are already countries in which this type of approach has been embraced.
One of the frontrunners is Sweden, where the majority of recyclable waste is properly processed and anything which cannot be recycled is burnt, in order to generate energy, which can be used by households and businesses.
The UK and other EU countries may need to consider adopting this approach if they want to match the expectations of future regulations.
Meanwhile, people in the UK can do their bit by recycling as much household waste as possible, including things like old mobile phones and other electronics, not just everyday disposable items.
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