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Each year, the UK generates a truly mind-boggling 100 million tonnes of waste from commerce, industry and households – and this figure is rising! Although most of us can’t directly affect industry and commercial waste, we do have control over the amount of waste that leaves our home. In the UK, households contribute about one third of the total at around 30 million tonnes. Birmingham’s contribution is a whopping 500,000 tonnes.
We all need to tackle this excessive waste of natural resources so that we can live sustainably - within the natural limits of the planet, but the main onus should be on the systems that put waste into the wrong places and prevent the most sustainable solutions from being used.
Currently, an unwieldy one-size-fits-all aproach in Birmingham leads to too many barriers that prevent better locally-owned practices, which would be:
- Encouraging reduction and re-use, so fewer raw materials and products are needed in the first place
- Recycling more to obtain value and reduce the amount of waste being landfilled or incinerated.
Sending waste to landfill or incineration causes many environmental problems. Landfill uses up land, generates odours and traffic and the biodegradable waste in landfill generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Incinerators emit significant quantities of greenhouse gases. Although some plants produce electricity, generally more energy could be saved by recycling the waste.
Food waste currently goes in with the rest of the rubbish in black bags, creating a food source for vermin on the streets before it is collected and methane in landfill, or moisture in the incinerator, making it even more inefficient.
Sending waste to landfill or incineration causes many environmental problems. Landfill uses up land, generates odours and traffic and the biodegradable waste in landfill generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The majority of Birmingham's rubbish is incinerated, at Tyseley . This incinerator emits 13,000 tons per annum of C02 among other green house gases. Although this plant produces electricity, more energy could be saved by separating and then recycling the waste.
Over 60% of the rubbish in our dustbins could easily be recycled. However, the latest figures for Birmingham taken for the period 2009-10 showed that only 31% was either recycled or composted. By comparison Walsall's figure was 47%.
Birmingham City Council has a target to recycle 40% by 2026. We believe this does not go far enough. Birmingham Friends of the Earth, in line with the national campaign, believes we can halve the amount of rubbish by 2020.
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