Recycling may be waste of time, says charity

Many councils cannot process ‘recyclable’ material and three of them do not take plastic

CLING film, plant pots and takeaway trays are being recycled by less than 10 per cent of councils, figures show.

Data from Wrap, a waste charity, reveals that councils across the UK have drastically different recycling regimes, under which some households are able to recycle different items to others.

It means some households may be wasting their time trying to recycle some items marked as “recyclable” because they are unaware their council cannot recycle it.

Detergent bottles, drinks and milk bottles and shampoo bottles are most likely to be recycled because 99 per cent of councils have the necessary capability. Most councils collect bottles, only some collect pots, tubs and trays, while others collect a much wider range, BBC analysis of the data found.

Three councils – Rotherham, the Isles of Scilly, and Tonbridge and Malling – do not recycle plastic at all.

The Government is consulting on an overhaul of the recycling regime in the hope of improving recycling rates.

The review could change the national target for recycling, which states that 50 per cent of waste will be recycled by 2020.

The amount of household waste being recycled by families fell for the first time in 2016, official figures showed, amid warnings that people were becoming increasingly confused about how to clean and separate rubbish properly.

Common mistakes such as mixing cans and bones from meat in with other recycling, and attempting to save food encrusted cardboard, are causing tons of waste to be rejected by recycling units, experts said.

It comes after spending watchdogs warned that consumers’ efforts to recycle plastic packaging may be going to waste because the national recycling system is open to fraud and error.

A National Audit Office study found the official recycling rate could be overstated because it assumes all packaging that goes to recycling plants is recycled. In reality around 10 per cent is contaminated and cannot be recycled, while an unknown quantity is shipped abroad to plants where there is a “high risk” that it will not be recycled.

Many councils are trying to force households to recycle more by reducing the frequency of bin collections.

Data compiled by The Telegraph indicates at least 18 councils have moved or will shortly be moving to three weekly rubbish collections, while a further three have adopted or are trialing four-weekly collections.

The move has angered the 2.6 million affected residents, who now face dealing with overflowing bins which attract flies and rodents.