Wales leads UK in terms of recycling rates
Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - 13:25:54
Wales is doing much better than the other nations which form the United Kingdom when it comes to the recycling of household waste, according to ITV News.
Last week the Welsh Government highlighted figures from Defra, which indicate that 54.8 per cent of the rubbish generated by households is recycled. By comparison the 44.8 per cent rates achieved in England look far from perfect, while Scotland’s 41 per cent rate is even more of a problem.
By breaching the 50 per cent rate of recycling for household waste, Wales is already well ahead of the EU deadline for this milestone to be passed, which the rest of the UK will have to catch up with by the end of the decade.
Government minister, Carl Sergeant, said that in spite of Wales being in the lead in terms of recycling rates, it was not the time to get complacent, but rather the ideal moment for the nation to continue pushing towards further increases in the future. He also said that the benefits of recycling more household waste were not only environmental, but also economic in nature, helping to boost green business in Wales.
Since the figures show that England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are all well behind their Welsh counterparts in the recycling stakes, there will, no doubt, be questions raised about whether councils can do more to follow in the footsteps of their contemporaries in Wales.
Tackling recycling rate issues must necessarily occur on two tiers, as councils not only need to offer more recycling services, but residents need to be made aware of the facilities that are available to them. They also need to be encouraged that the benefits of recycling far outweigh the mild hassle of separating certain waste items out from one another, before disposing of them.
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