Tonnes of west London recycling being sent abroad

THOUSANDS of tonnes of recycling waste collected by west London authorities is being sent abroad, a Gazette investigation has revealed.

Shocking amounts of card, paper, plastics and even wood collected for recycling were sent as far afield as China and India for processing by west London councils from 2016 to 2017.

The latest available figures reveal Ealing, Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon and Westminster were among the UK councils to send huge piles of recycling waste to foreign countries for processing.

Far East countries, including China and India, as well as EU nations, took in tonnes of recycling from English councils over a two-year period.

According to figures from the WasteDataFlow system, which councils use to monitor the end destinations of the waste they collect, a total of 288,701 tonnes of waste collected across west London was processed in 2016/17.

A breakdown reveals the sheer amount of recycling the following west London boroughs sent out of the country for processing in 2016 and 2017.

Brent Council sent 6,126 tonnes of card and paper and five tonnes of plastics to locations in China and the Far East. It also sent 22 tonnes of plastics to EU countries and 17 tonnes of plastics and 12 tonnes of paper outside Europe.

In 2016/17, Ealing sent 9,019 tonnes of paper and card and 183 tonnes of plastics to China. It also sent 160 tonnes of paper and card and nine tonnes of HDPE plastics to India, 94 tonnes of paper to Indonesia, and plastics to countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Harrow sent 526 tonnes of wood to Belgium, as well as sending 7,175 tonnes of paper and card and 251 tonnes of plastic to locations outside Europe.

Hillingdon Council sent 489 tonnes of card to the Netherlands, with a further 2,326 tonnes going to countries in the EU.

Westminster sent 551 tonnes of paper to China as well as sending 178 tonnes of LDPE plastic and 459 tonnes of paper and card to the Netherlands.

The investigation found British local authorities have sold easily processed items like paper, wood, metal, plastic and glass across Europe and the Far East.

One group of local authorities shipped more than 900 tonnes of plastic bottles to Taiwan – a trip of 6,000 miles (9,650 km) – while another county council sent 882 tonnes of scrap metal to India. During a two-year period more than 2.2 million tonnes of recyclable items were exported overseas, including a 500,000 tonne ‘black hole’ with an “unknown destination.”

England currently recycles just 44% of household waste, ranking 18th in the world – lower than countries including South Korea, Taiwan and Slovenia.

The rate, one of the worst in the developed world, has fallen in recent years after the coalition government removed Labour’s recycling target.

Julian Kirby, recycling lead at Friends of the Earth, said: “Much of what gets exported to the Far East isn’t actually recycled.

“The items we are sending are so contaminated and mixed up we are actually just sending rubbish. We are using other countries with very poor environmental and labour standards as a dumping ground.”

She added: “The government needs to play an active role by setting clear recycling targets and telling councils how to collect it.”

Green MP Caroline Lucas said: “Britain should be a world leader in recycling and doing all we can to reduce the energy waste associated with refuse. Instead we’re lagging behind and fobbing off our mess onto others.

“It’s shocking to see so much recycling being shipped across the world for processing.”

The facilities and equipment at British processing plants are among the best in the world but many plants refuse to accept low quality “co-mingled” waste as it is much harder to recycle.

Many councils refuse to disclose where they send their recycling, hiding behind the claim it is “commercially sensitive information”.

This means around two per cent of our annual total disappears into a ‘black hole’.

Recycling experts say collecting paper and card in a separate box would dramatically improve Britain’s recycling rate.

Simon Weston, director at the Confederation of Paper Industries, said: “Up to 30 per cent of household recyclate has to be sorted, which is expensive and leads to more waste.

“We need every single council in the country to be collecting the same items in exactly the same way.

“At the moment this government is hands-off and won’t get involved in local authority affairs.

“They need to step up and put some policies in place.”

Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon and Westminster councils have all been contacted for comment.