How much do we throw away that could be recycled?

Question

Does anyone now how much Britons throw away that could be recycled, ie - we throw away x tons of glass a year and we recycle y?

Thanks

Answer 1

The thing that makes me mad was when I went on a plane the other day and you're given plastic cups, foil dishes, ect  it all goes straight to the bin.  Imagine how many planes fly a day that serve these meals multiply by seven then calculate how many in a year.  

  The world is in a shambles and we certainly aren't all doing as much as we're capable of doing.

Answer 2

I honestly don't know an answer to your question but I would be curious to learn. I would also be interested to know what really happens to all stuff that people are forced to separate out by the local council n***s and then we read is all mixed up and shipped to the far east for them to process.

Answer 3

Maybe if we went back to brown paper bags for items instead of fancy packaging it would help a bit.

Answer 4

as a family of three we produce about a carrier bag full of non recycleable waste a fortnight.  most people around where I live produde maybe one black sack a fortnight maximum

Answer 5

Aren't we all missing the point?

All this talk about taxing us and charging us more for rubbish collecting?

If we throw all this stuff away, why are we letting it into our lives in the first place?

The pressure needs to be put on the manufacturers, suppliers and supermarkets to reduce all this packaging.

I f we all left the packets and excess stuff at the till intead of carrying it home then maybe the quantity would get reduced pretty quick.

On the other hand- if we landfill it all, we'll know where it is when we need to mine it back out gain when we run out of everything else.

Oh, in Hamshire we reycle so much that they can't process it all.and can't get rid of the recycled raw materials It is so much cheaper to make new glass, paper, plastic than using recycled stuff.

Market forces?

Answer 6

For me, that's a simple answer.  There isn't much I throw away, I recycle just about everything I use.  Plastic, bags, papers, cans, glass, bottles, electronics, anything that is cardboard--yes, even the toilet paper rolls and pasta boxes from the store.  I hope it makes a difference.

Companies could really help the environment and themselves by recycling all the paper they go through in one day.  I wish they would do that where I work.

Answer 7

Britain has a pretty pitiful record when it comes to recycling: "only 18 per cent of municipal waste is recycled in Britain, compared to 28 per cent in France, 58 per cent in Germany and 65 per cent in the Netherlands". (http://www.independent.co.uk/environment...

In theory, everything can be recycled (even organic waste can be composted and sewage can be used for fertilizer), it's simply a matter of the process being considered "economically viable" or not and, in some cases, manufacturers changing the materials used.

I've included a couple of DEFRA links for you with plenty of stats and links. Hope this helps. :)

Answer 8

not a lot because the local council has forced us into recycling by reducing collections to fortnightly. nice in the summer!

Answer 9

I don't know the answer to your question, but whatever is non-recyclable in the traditional sense (glass, aluminum, paper) may be able to be "recycled" through Freecycle.

It looks like there is no Freecycling yet in Britain.  You could be the one to start!

http://www.freecycle.org/group/?noautode...

I'm an American who both recycles and Freecycles.  

Best recycling wishes to you!