"There needs to be an urgent and radical overhaul of the way in which rubbish is thrown away. Local people, businesses and councils all have a vital role to play to protect our countryside before it becomes buried in a mountain of rubbish"
Cllr Paul Bettison, Chairman of the LGA Environment Board
London: Statistics released today shows that Britain is officially the 'dustbin of Europe' according to the Local Government Association (LGA). The organisation claims that Britain disposes of more household waste into landfill than any other country in the European Union.
Research by the LGA, which represents councils in England, shows that in the most recent year where figures are comparable to EU countries, households in the UK sent more than 22.6 million tonnes of rubbish to landfill.
The figures also show that Britain sent the same amount of rubbish to landfill as the eighteen EU countries with the lowest landfill rates combined - despite having almost twice the population of the UK.
Council leaders warn that an area the size of Warwick, which covers 109 square miles, is already taken up by landfill, and if the current trend continues it is estimated the country will run out of landfill space in less than nine years time.
The countries with the highest amount of household rubbish thrown into landfill for the most recent comparable year (2005) are:-
· UK around 22.6 million tonnes
· Italy around 17.6 million tonnes
· Spain around 14.2 million tonnes
· France around 12 million tonnes
· Poland around 8.6 million tonnes
Landfill operations (Photo: Viridor)
However the LGA acknowledges that the amount of waste landfilled by Britain has declined markedly over the previous twelve months, though European countries have also been drastically cutting the amount they send to landfill, “leaving Britain still at the top of the rubbish heap”.
Research recently published by the Local Government Association also showed that up to 40 per cent of a regular household shopping basket cannot be recycled (see MoreThanWaste article).
The LGA warns that unless major changes are made by householders, shops, businesses and manufacturers - recycling rates will not rise fast enough to meet the EU Landfill Directive targets. This could lead to adverse climate change and hit the pockets of taxpayers.
According to the National Audit Office, fines of up to £200million could hit taxpayers for the failure to cut the amount that is thrown in landfills and authorities (funded by council tax payers) could be stung by £150 per tonne for excess material.
"Pay as you throw"
Supporting “pay as you throw” powers for local authorities, the organisation said that the powers should help to encourage people to take more responsibility for the way they throw their rubbish away.
Councils are looking for a power rather than a duty. Such schemes are to promote recycling and not to generate extra cash through an extra stealth tax, according to the LGA.
Chair of the LGA
Cllr Paul Bettison, Chairman of the LGA Environment Board, said:
"Britain is the dustbin of Europe with more rubbish being thrown into landfill than any other country on the continent. For decades people have been used to being able to throw their rubbish away without worrying about the consequences. Those days are now over.
"There needs to be an urgent and radical overhaul of the way in which rubbish is thrown away. Local people, businesses and councils all have a vital role to play to protect our countryside before it becomes buried in a mountain of rubbish.
"Since 1997, local people, businesses and councils have worked tirelessly to boost recycling rates from seven percent to twenty seven percent. However, there is still far more that needs to be done if the taxpayer is going to be able to avoid the landfill fines that the EU and central government will impose in the coming years.
"Councils are on the frontline in the fight against climate change and are working hard to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, but ultimately we must make sure less waste is produced in the first place.'
Europe's use of landfill 2005
The list below shows tonnages for European countries in ascending order for 2005. (For a graph click on the link above).
Total tonnages in ascending order:
Luxembourg 58,835
Netherlands 148,029
Denmark 206,670
Sweden 209,479
Malta 209,601
Estonia 365,238
Belgium 452,192
Latvia 553,885
Cyprus 634,318
Slovenia 647,742
Austria 928,176
Lithuania 1,157,316
Slovakia 1,226,515
Finland 1,487,688
Ireland 1,822,333
Czech Republic 2,133,815
Portugal 2,929,998
Bulgaria 3,107,652
Hungary 3,633,672
Greece 4,308,677
Romania 6,557,810
Germany 7,343,333
Poland 8,612,746
France 12,024,601
Spain 14,266,161
Italy 17,625,822
UK 22,636,350