Below is the second article OnTheWight has published as part of the new data collaboration with Urbs Media and Press Association.
Data reporter, Ralph Blackburn, shares this interesting detail on how much rubbish is thrown away by Isle of Wight households that does not get recycled. Ed
Households on the Isle of Wight throw out more than half a tonne of rubbish which does not get recycled, new figures reveal.
Equivalent to a Grand piano
Between March 2016 and 2017, on average, each home chucked out 506kg of refuse that wasn’t recycled, reused or composted, more than the weight of a grand piano.
Of the household waste thrown away 46.5% was recycled, which is higher than the poorest performing local authority Newham which reused a measly 14%.
Recycling up 50% in 5 years
That is significantly more than was being recycled five years ago, when the proportion was 32%.
But 2017’s figure is below the government’s household waste recycling target of 50% by 2020, set by the EU.
71,000 tonnes of rubbish
The latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) show that in the last financial year the Isle of Wight cleared away a whopping 71,035 tonnes of rubbish, with 94% of that household waste.
Of the 31,010 tonnes from homes that were recycled or reused, 54% was dry recycling and the rest was compost.
The 53% that wasn’t recycled either went into landfill or was incinerated at special treatment plants, with the ash used as a fuel for energy and also in construction projects.
Defra doesn’t have a complete data set to show how much waste local authorities dispose of in the ground, however nationally this has almost halved in the last five years while the amount being used to provide energy from waste has doubled.
Wales: A leader in recycling
The average proportion of household waste recycled in England was 44%, lower than in Wales where 55% was reused.
That puts Wales only second after Germany in the world for recycling household waste, according to environmental analysts Eunomia.
England sits behind South Korea, Slovenia and Italy in 18th place.
Recycling has been on the news agenda lately with David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II shining a light on how plastic is affecting our marine wildlife. It is thought more than eight million tonnes is dumped into the world’s oceans annually.
China: No more plastics thanks
Last week China revealed it may stop importing plastic from foreign countries including the UK, which may impact local authorities.
According to the environmental organisation Greenpeace, in the last year Britain shipped more than 2.7 million tonnes to China and Hong Kong.
Experts believe the restrictions could force councils to stop recycling certain types of plastic, as fees at sorting plants are likely to increase.
