MEPs tougher recycling targets April 9, 2008
According to the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) who held a vote on 8 April, recycling targets should be increased and incinerators subjected to efficiency criteria when burning waste for energy ‘recovery’ purposes.
Their aim is to make sure by 2020, 50% of the EU’s household waste and 70% of construction waste is recycled. These targets should, according to MEPs, accompany member-state efforts to stabilise waste production by 2012.
The vote is part of the Parliments second reading on waste production and a controversial piece of legislation that is plagued by widely differing waste and recycling practices across the EU.
What has shocked me is the level of recycling in the UK compared to the neighbouring European countries. According to the Friend of the Earth (FOE), Germany, Austria and Switzerland recycle over 50% of their household wastes, whilst the UK only manages to recycle 19% of all household wastes.
So why is this? Are the British public lazy? Or have the British government not made enough effort in motivating households to recycle their waste?
I would say it is a mxture of both. The government has made SOME effort in placing rules and systems in order for us to recycle e.g. increase in recycle bins, however, the public are also pretty lazy as you have put it. If everyone did use those bins provided, I really believe the percentage of recycling would be much higher than 19%.
we need to stop attacking the government and authorities and take responsibilities for our OWN actions.