Watchdog warns inadequate recycling capacity puts UK at risk of EU fines

The government has today urged businesses and householders to continue to step up their recycling efforts, despite the release of a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) raising fears that a shortfall in UK recycling and waste-to-energy capacity could result in recyclable waste being sent to landfill.

The report - which follows news that falling demand for recyclate from Asia has forced some waste handling firms to stockpile recyclable material - concludes that the government has failed to provide enough waste management facilities capable of ensuring that waste that can be recycled or incinerated to generate energy is not sent to landfill.

It warns that as a result of the lack of capacity, the government is at risk of missing an EU target to halve the amount of biodegradable municipal waste being sent to landfill by 2013, leaving it liable for fines totalling hundreds of millions of pounds.

The government has said that if it is subjected to fines, the cost will be passed onto local councils, who in turn are likely to pass it on through higher taxes.

"The report found that the government should make the target to cut waste going to landfill by 25 per cent on 1995 levels by 2010, but it will be extremely challenging for it to meet the 50 per cent target by 2013," said a spokesman for the NAO. "There is not enough waste being treated, and that is because the necessary treatment facilities simply haven't been built yet."

The NAO report found that while Defra had accelerated the private finance initiative (PFI) intended to fund large-scale composting, waste-to-energy and recycling facilities in recent years, the scheme has so far delivered only one new waste treatment plant in Leciestershire and another in east London since its launch in 1999.

It added that while another nine projects have now been approved and a further 18 are in the pipeline, difficulty obtaining financing for new projects coupled with opposition to many waste-to-energy plants from local residents meant the UK would still struggle to meet the 2013 deadline.

A spokesman for Defra insisted that both the government and local councils were working hard to improve recycling and waste treatment capacity in the UK and advised that despite recent reports of problems in the recycling market, businesses and householders should continue to recycle as much waste as possible.

"Recycling remains more cost effective than sending waste to landfill and brings major environmental benefits," he said. "While the market is going through a difficult period right now, we are hopeful that it will recover in the coming months. In the meantime, we're working with our agencies and local authorities to support councils in their recycling efforts during this temporary market downturn."

In related news, the government's waste advisory body WRAP today reported that it had enjoyed greater success diverting waste to landfill through its campaign to curb the amount of waste food generated in the UK.

According to new research from the agency, its Love Food Hate Waste campaign has resulted in 137,000 tonnes of food being thrown away since its launch in 2007, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 600,000 tonnes and saving households £296m in food bills.