Recent figures regarding recycling show ONLY 9% gets recycled!
12% is burned and the remaining 79% gets put in landfills either here; but more likely sent to the global south :( which is already drowing in our waste!
How awful is this?
I looked on dorset for you recycling page for more info & it only says plastic gets sent to a depot in Wales & a whopping 90% of textile waste gets sent abroad. I emailed them for more info as to what happens once it gets to Wales, but no reply. They have since ,of course, declared a climate emergency and might take our queries as to the facts a bit more seriously!
I think the good people of Dorset, who painstakingly & conscientiously seperate their refuse & recycle in good faith, thinking they are helping the planet, deserve to know the truth as to where their rubbish ends up.
Shall we as both PS & XR put some pressure on the Council?
This sorry state of affairs is totally no surprise to me. I was told by recycling workers years ago that it is a waste of the public's time to recycle because the stuff is basically just NOT recycled. This is proving the theory held by many that this is just another ploy by the greedy money moguls to keep the populace occupied with distractions and keep them quiet whilst all the corruption, cruelties and evils continue to be perpetuated.
Agree 100%!! I’ve just seen a short vid from the guardian where a spokeswoman from Malaysia says developing countries will no longer be bullied by the richer countries in the global west into accepting the trade of refuse that people in the uk still believe is being recycled . They are sending it all back . That should wake this country up to its own plastic production / consumption nightmare of excess! Years ago when I lived near Totnes people were fined by the council if their recycling was not properly separated, so that was clearly a corrupt money making scam also, now we know that most of it is heading to landfill anyway . So many lies & dishonest , corrupt people being revealed at this time. . 💔
Recycling still has a place although we should be seeking to refuse and re-use so that recycling is the last resort. If we all keep asking questions then all the authorites wil realise that they have been rumbled.
I also heard the programme about waste being shipped to Malaysia and it's a terrible situation. I agree that finding a way to put pressure on the County Council is key.
so, what are we all going to do? My suggestion is to seriously consider incineration. Technology today can do it removing all pollutants from any output. I don't actually see another answer. Incineration can also be an energy generator, of-course.
I think plastic reprocessing facilities must be constructed with money from companies who use it. It can be broken down refined and recycled.
karen, things are much worse i think than when i posted this , i've been doing some digging & found some possible skullduggery on the council's part, so i have done a FOI request to dorset council / dorset waste partnership regarding : how many tonnes of plastic waste does dorset create each year , a breakdown on the various types of plastic in % and current saleable value of each type p/tonne, to whom is this waste sold, where does it end up ie uk , europe, asia (breakdown in % ) and finally what revenue does the council recieve from selling our plastic to waste brokers annually and what is the total revenue recieved from selling our plastic waste in the last 5/10 years, where, if at all is this revenue declared, ie is it transparent or hidden.
if i am correct in my assumption of corrupt dealings (and i really hope that i am wrong) it is possible that other/ maybe all county councils are selling our plastic waste to brokers who are exporting it to asia and making considerable annual profit from the sale of our plastic waste, plastic waste that is actually recyclable. I have been put in touch with an environmental journalist ( prev worked for the guardian ) who specialises in this kind of thing.