Wales stands out as the green ‘top’ performing part of the UK in terms of recycling in contrast to red areas dotted around England and Scotland, according to an interactive map of recycling rates published today (26 April) by Suez recycling and recovery UK.
Suez has produced the map showing local authority recycling data using recycling rates for the 2019/20 financial year for England but for the 2019 calendar year for Scotland using official data.
The map, declared Suez technical development director Stuart Hayward-Higham, will help ‘pinpoint obstacles’ to achieving higher recycling rates.
Sluggish trend
The Suez map shows recycling rates across the UK
Commenting on the data, Suez said: “After a decade of rapid improvement across the home nations, recycling rates in England and Scotland plateaued for the fifth consecutive year, with large cities restricting the UK average. This sluggish overall trend reiterates the need for extended producer responsibility and a consistent collections policy that makes efficient use of existing kerbside collection systems, capturing a wider range of materials for recycling and helping the rest of the UK match the performance seen in Wales.”
The tool has also been launched, said Suez, “with the aim of being a baseline from which to start to measure success, as new policies are implemented following the publication of the Government’s Waste and Resources Plan and the plethora of actions and ongoing consultations.”
Clickable
The online digital tool, also produced between 2014-2017, allows users to click on individual local authorities to view the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting in the 2019/20 financial year, along with the percentage change from the previous period.
Giving the reasoning for the colours used in the map, Suez said that the colour coding of the map aims to group local authorities relative to the national average recycling rate and the UK’s ‘Circular Economy Package’ 2035 target of 65%. “Basing the average national recycling rate in the middle of the scale and the target at the top, local authorities falling below 30% have been coloured red, those between 30-40% coloured amber, 40-50% yellow, 50-60% green and those achieving 60%+ have been coloured dark green.”
Urban areas
“The lacklustre recycling growth reflected on the map just reiterates the importance of the current government consultations”
John Scanlon, chief executive
Suez UK
Urban areas of England and Scotland, which account for so much of the UK’s population, continue to trend lower, with 14 London local authorities reporting recycling rates of below 30%, along with Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow. Wales continues to lead the way, with 20 local authorities exceeding 60% recycling and Cardiff lagging just behind at 58%, the company notes.
Consultations
John Scanlon, chief executive officer of Suez recycling and recovery UK said: “With the government consultations on extended producer responsibility and consistent collections taking place this spring, we have a significant opportunity to work across the value chain and make holistic changes that will maximise the efficiency of existing kerbside collection systems and drive growth in recycling rates across the country. We are releasing this digital tool today to set a clear baseline and to establish a metric to measure our success against as we start to implement these changes over the coming years.”
Mr Scanlon added: “The lacklustre recycling growth reflected on the map just reiterates the importance of the current government consultations and how vital it is that we get these policies right so that we can continue moving forward together.”
2035
“This digital tool helps us improve our understanding”
Stuart Hayward-Higham, technical development director for Suez UK said: “In order to get our recycling rates where they need to be by 2035, we need a clear understanding of where they are now.
“This digital tool helps us improve our understanding by visualising patterns and areas that are underperforming so that we can pinpoint obstacles, like demographic differences or geographic challenges, and make informed changes to address them. By highlighting the local authorities that are leading the country in recycling, the map also creates a valuable opportunity to learn from their success.”
Related links
Map of recycling in the UK – SUEZ in UK
A PDF of the map is also available at: PDF of Suez UK recycling map
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
