Environment Secretary Hilary Benn spent an hour answering your questions on topics such as recycling, the alternatives to landfill, how you can do your bit to reduce waste, what items can be re-used and the impact of waste on the environment.
Read the transcript:
Moderator says: Hilary has just arrived and we’ll be starting very shortly.
Mary Locke: I try and do as much recycling as possible but I feel that all of us could and should do more perhaps coloured containers for glass, cardboard etc. and weekly collection of recycling not fortnighly. Also more needs to be done about food waste. Perhaps incentives for people to have solar panels some of us would like them but can ill afford them
Hilary replies: Good morning Mary, and hello everyone else. Thanks for joining us this morning.
Councils, as you know, have their own systems and what matters is what helps you to recycle. Many councils have alternate weekly collections and the evidence is that it works. The top 20 recycling councils in the country use this system.
On food waste, I agree ! It works and the waste food can be used to make energy or compost. That’s why I want all councils to move to collecting food along with other materials that can be recycled.
MJ: Apart from a recent strategy document, and vaguely effective regulations, what is the government ACTIVELY doing to force producers to reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging they use on their products?
Hilary replies: First of all, we have more than doubled the rate of packaging recycling in the last 10 years from 28% to 61%. But we want to do more and you are right that reducing the amount produced in the first place really matters. So we’re supporting trading standards officers who can take action against excess packaging. We’re encouraging better design - take a look at glass wine bottles for example. You can get ones now that have flat bottoms as opposed to concave ones - they use less glass and therefore less carbon to make them and move them about. Finally, we want Europe to review the rules so we can do more.
carl holmes: why dont you ban plastic bags in the uk and tell supermarkets to dramatically reduce the amount of packaging no brainner
Hilary replies: Hello Carl. In fact, we have managed to reduce the number of single use carrier bags given out by 48% in 2 years! That is going some , and we expect more progress in the future. How did we do it ? With the support of the supermarkets; we ran our ‘Get a Bag Habit’ campaign; and we, as consumers, remembering to take a bag with us when we go shopping.
Christopher Starr: Will the government adopt feed in tarrifs for photo voltaic solar panels, please ?
Hilary replies: We’re doing that Christopher and they are due to come in next year.
John Whitworth: Energy from waste plants disincentivise reuse and recycling. Does your zero waste policy have a definite preference for more sustainable alternatives to incineration such as mechanical and biological treatments?
Hilary replies: It’s not a competition John. We need all the ways we have to deal with the problem. The top priority is to prevent waste in the first place, and then to re-use or recycle it. But some things will always be left over and the reason why we still send so much to landfill - compared with other European countries - is that we do relatively little energy from waste. On mechanical and biological treatment (MBT), what is produced can often be used to produce energy!
We also have to think about our energy security, and energy from waste is a form of renewable energy.
Danielle: I know people who can’t be bothered to recycle - how about incentives for recycling, a points scheme, the more points you earn the more of a reduction on your council tax bill for example.
Hilary replies: Good idea, and that’s why we have given councils the power to run incentives schemes just like that. We have invited up to five councils to come forward, but so far none have. If you could encourage yours to do so then that would be great!
Lee Barlow: What support / incentive is there for business to recycle?
Hilary replies: Lee - we have just set out some plans on how to help businesses to do just that. For example, if you have an industrial estate, then there is no reason why the businesses should not get together to set up their own collection area (like in a supermarket car park) for things that can be recycled. We will be funding some pilot schemes to try this out. The incentive is there, however. It costs businesses who put stuff in landfill and it is getting more expensive. Lastly, we give a lot of advice through WRAP - the Waste & Resources Action Programme - to help businesses improve their resource efficiency.
Sonia Kalisky: I am very concerned about all the old ‘white’ goods such as washing machines, fridges, cookers. Please can you tell me what happens to them. (I have just replaced an old oven and now need a new washing machine.)
Hilary replies: Most councils will take them away, and some shops too when you are buying a new appliance. Nowadays, the companies who sell them have to pay for them to be collected and recycled. Currently we are recycling about 30% of waste electronic and white goods and we want to get that up. Or you could always put it on E-Bay or Freecycle and see what you can get for it!
Philip Marks: Does Mr Benn agree that it is irresponsible to let perfectly useable material like wood go straight to landfill and what will the government be doing to stop it and encourage better use of our natural resources?
Hilary replies: Yes! And that’s why we will be consulting around the turn of the year on banning things like wood, paper, glass, food, metals and plastics from landfill. Plus, the landfill tax - which is rising every year - is a huge encouragement to find another way of dealing with waste.
Caesar: How can people help avoid wasting the world’s resources and help themselves too ?
Hilary replies: One thing we can do Caesar is to stop throwing away things than can still be used. Food is one example. We throw away just under a third of the food we buy and about half of it is still edible. If it goes to landfill, it rots and produces greenhouse gases which are damaging our planet. So not throwing food way saves the planet and saves you money - it costs the average family about £400 a year. If you go to the WRAP website you will find lots of ideas and tips for things you can do.
Brian Zammit: Hi. By it’s very nature, much of the waste we produce is hazardous, toxic or has a serious detrimental effect on the environment. We are careful not pollute the UK and it’s waters with this waste, but it has to go somewhere, and often ends up in areas of the world where poverty overrides the need to ensure the health and safety of the peolple who live there. How is the UK Government ensuring that our strategy for reducing our impact on the environment is linked to the international development and anti-poverty agenda? How are you safeguarding against the health of people in poorer countries being undermined by the waste produced by people in the UK?
Hilary replies: Brian, it is illegal to export hazardous waste to developing countries and the Environment Agency does prosecute. We have also given extra money to the Environment Agency to do more inspections. The only waste that can be shipped abroad is material that can be recycled, and that makes sense because it is preferable to landfilling it in the UK.
The UK played a leading role in the new Treaty which has set standards for ship dismantling. A few years ago I met the union representing people working on shipbreaking in Bangladesh. I was horrified by what they told me. Workers were being given rubber gloves to remove asbestos! That’s why we worked so hard for this new Treaty.
Mary Clements: Given the scale of rubbish produced by the construction industry what action are you going to take to make builders sort their waste on site so it can be recycled more efficiently?
Hilary replies: Good construction companies are already diverting most of their waste from landfill. They sort it better, so that the metals, the wood and the glass, for example, can be re-used and recycled. We have made it compulsory for all building projects worth more than £300,000 to have a site waste management plan which helps. It also saves the firms money because otherwise it would go - very expensively for them - to landfill. I recently went to Peterborough where they are redoing the main square. All the paving blocks they were pulling up were being offered to local community groups for landscaping projects - a really good idea.
John Whitworth: What is your response to the accusation that you have misappropriated the “Zero Waste” label? You policy is at best “25% Waste” even if you consider incineration a form of reuse.
Hilary replies: Crumbs, it’s only 9.45am and I have been accused of misappropriation !!!
Zero waste is what we are aiming for, John, and never let perfection get in the way of progress…..
Maxine Perella: Food waste collections are not popular with householders, nor cost-effective for local authorities. How will you encourage more uptake of such schemes?
Hilary replies: I disagree, Maxine. And so do most people when you ask them. One great advantage is that if you have a problem now with foxes and cats ripping up your black plastic bags, a fine green food bucket works a treat!
More and more councils are doing this now, and the incentives for anaerobic digestion - putting the food in a big pot to generate energy - are helping.
nick horslen: Are you aware it is http://www.blogactionday.org for Climate change today!? will you be blogging to support this today?
Hilary replies: I am realiably informed that the Prime Minister is doing so Nick. So have a look at what he is saying. And dealing with waste helps deal with climate change.
Craig Bloodworth: My council of Ryedale is surrounded by other councils that collect and recycle most items however Ryedale continues to object to collecting plastic and cardboard citing it as being too expensive to even have a bottle bank in each village despite having the most expensive council tax in the area. With the government wanting to tax councils further for sending items to the dump, which I fully support, what will you do to force councils like Ryedale to collect as much recycling as possible and not just pass on the dumping tax to its residents?
Hilary replies: I sympathise Craig. We want all councils to provide as full a recycling service as possible and plan to require them to do so in the future, but it will need legislation.
rich dyer: Hi Hilary. We work in a shared office scheme in Preston, it was a derelict building but for the last few years has housed a number of creative industries. We obviously want to recycle our cardboard etc but Preston City Council seem unable to provide a commercial solution for this so all waste goes to the landfill. I’ve tried in the past to take home computer boxes and put them with the recycling, only for the binmen to refuse to take them because the bin was ‘too full’ - how can anyone be asked to take recycling seriously with approaches like this?
Hilary replies: Rich, it really makes sense - as you have just pointed out - for councils to manage household and commercial waste together. See my earlier answer to Lee Barlow. We are also funding pilot projects for councils to collect trade waste like yours. Why don’t you contact your council and ask them whether they plan to bid to do this. Good luck.
Eoin Ryan: What pratical steps, including seperated collections can be taken by Local Authorities? Are monthly collections of Land Fill waste reccommended?
Hilary replies: Different councils have different systems; what matters is what works for each area. Some collect all recyclable materials together and then separate them out. Others ask us as householders to separate the stuff out. In the last 12 years household recycling rates have gone from 8% to 37% - this shows what we can do when we put our minds to it. More please!
Nyree: Jess Timms: Given the scale of the problem and the fact that we are running out of time to change do you feel government, business and people are taking the issue of waste’s contribution to climate change seriously enough?
Hilary replies: We are doing our best, but as you rightly say this is everyone’s responsibility. What encourages me is that great things are being done all over the place, and the question I always ask myself when I see it is - if we can do it here, then why can’t we do it eveywhere? The other thing we need to think about is making it easy to do the right thing everywhere. So, not just at home, but when we are out and about and also when we are at work.
John: All very well ourselves doing it Mr Benn, but what about supermarket chains who throw away tonnes of perfectly edible food each week? What is the strategy for reducing their output?
Hilary replies: John, in fact a number of supermarkets are now reducing their food waste, including by using it to make renewable energy.
One thing they could do is to rationalise the different labels we find on food - ‘Best Before’, ‘Sell By’, ‘ Display Until’. We are working on this with the Food Standards Agency and the retailers. Keeping to ‘Use By’ dates is very important, however, as they are about food safety.
A.W.Wallace: Croydon Do try to do recycling they are a few how do not,I,E-Mailed the Council about this to ask the Driver off the Recycling Unit to have a list of House Numbers just tick the one who do not Recycling never heared from the Council I,spoke to the Driver he Just look at drove off on his round same as Green Garden wast
Hilary replies: Sorry to hear this. I would get on to your local councillor and your MP and ask them to sort this out.
Peter Knight: What does the government intend to do about the rise in fly tipping, brought about by the increased cost of disposal, brought about by so called green taxes like Landfill Tax. All that these taxes do is deter people from using proper facilities.
Hilary replies: We’re about to give councils the powers to seize vehicles involved in suspected illegal fly tipping.
Jack Peterson: Does the Government have any plans to encourage more recycling of things like wood and metal?
Hilary replies: Yes, see my earlier comments Jack.
dennis robert chuck: this seems to be more of a public awareness problem,showing the pollution and health hazards as well unsightlyness of the mess would be a good way to start.
Hilary replies: I agree, Dennis. It’s about both having the facilities to do the right thing - councils that collect a whole range of materials for recycling, separated bins for us to use when we are out and about, and simple things in offices like taking away general rubbish bins and replacing them with separate bins for different materials( as we have done at Defra) - and us doing the right thing (like using the bins that are there). Someone has just told me that one TV station has labelled the bin for waste that can’t be recycled ‘For landfill’. Now that sounds like a great idea to me because it would make us all think twice about throwing something in there when we could put it somewhere else. The truth is that tackling waste means less of our lovely landscape being taken up with rubbish tips, fewer greenhouse gases and more jobs in new technologies which can help us.
Right, thanks for your questions and keep it up…..I really enjoyed it, although we were all rather serious this time round. Recycling can be fun as well as worthy!
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