New UK waste statistics: Government must challenge throwaway culture, says Friends of the Earth

Reacting to new UK statistics on waste, published today by the government, Friends of the Earth’s waste campaigner Julian Kirby said:

 
“UK waste strategy is suffering from years of neglect with little progress in boosting recycling rates or reducing the amount of waste we create.
 

“On top of this ‘energy from waste’ incineration has more than trebled since 2014 - which is terrible news for our climate and precious resources.
 

“At long last the government appears to be waking up to the need for tougher action - but far greater emphasis must be given to waste prevention, rather than cure.
 

“We urgently need to tackle our throwaway culture - including better product design, more re-use, and a phase out of plastic - to ensure that far less waste is created in the first place.”
 

ENDS

Notes

!. Last week Friends of the Earth launched the #DrasticOnPlastic challenge to highlight the difficulties in avoiding plastic in our day to day lives.