New study on recycling rates in England’s major cities

In partnership with SITA UK, a recycling and resource management company, Keep Britain Tidy has launched a national study to find new ways of improving recycling rates in England’s major cities.

“With Government paring back its efforts in this area, it has placed the onus on industry to progress waste and resource policy in England,” said Dr Gev Eduljee, Director of External Affairs for SITA UK. “As a result, we have commissioned Keep Britain Tidy to undertake this study that seeks to find practical, solutions for people living and working in urban environments.”

Starting next week, Keep Britain Tidy, a leading environmental charity, will conduct an inquiry, which seeks to design solutions to improve recycling rates in urban environments, by involving members of the public working alongside waste industry experts.

Keep Britain Tidy and consultation specialists BritainThinks will host two separate two-day Citizens’ Juries in London and Manchester, which will involve members of the public in a solution-building process, producing ‘real-world’ outcomes with the help of practical advice from technical specialists. The solutions devised by the Citizens’ Juries will then be tested by a wider independent public poll of more than 1,000 people and the outcomes of both studies presented in a report and short film, both of which are expected to be launched in June 2014.

“Tackling waste is something in which the public has a big role to play, but all too often, debates about recycling do not include ordinary people,” said Andy Walker, Campaigns and Communications Director at Keep Britain Tidy. “These juries are an opportunity for the man, or woman, on the street to have their say on an important issue that affects us all.”

While some areas of England are reaching recycling rates nearing 70 percent, other areas are only achieving 15-20 percent. Among those authorities with the lowest recycling rates, many include densely populated urban environments, which pose a significant challenge to effective recycling.

According to the organisers England is also facing the danger that it won’t achieve its EU 2020 recycling target of 50 percent but, despite this, the current national government has withdrawn funding and focus from sustainable resource use, placing its future in the hands of the waste management industry.