Seven million tonnes of food is thrown away in the UK every year, and million more tonnes of electrical goods. Even though many electrical items can be recycled, they are still being thrown away. Around two million TVs are thrown away in the UK, which is typically made up of 6% metal and 50% glass, both of which can be recycled.
Recycling is always the best way to get rid of waste, even when it is exported abroad. Recycling facilities have become very easily accessible for households yet many choose to throw everything in the bin. There are many waste collection in London services available yet there is rubbish that can be recycled being sent to landfill.
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs conducted a report, where they analysed 200 reports covering seven different materials: paper and cardboard, plastics, biopolymers, food, garden cuttings, wood and textiles. They then looked at the evidence for seven methods of disposal, including recycling, composting, incineration and landfill, measured by four different criteria: energy use, water use, other resource use, and greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the report, recycling was the clear winner but there is still room to improve the amount being recycled each year. In the last few years, according to Defra, the total waste collected from the UK's 25m households dropped slightly to 24.3m tonnes, and of this 9.1m tonnes – 178kg per person – was recycled, a bit more than a third. Almost all of the remainder went to landfill.
