Many nations will fail to meet target of recycling 50% of waste by 2020, warns the European Environment Agency
Recycling rates in the UK rose faster in the first decade of the millennium than any other country in Europe, according to official statistics published on Tuesday.
Although the UK started from a low base in 2001 – recycling rates were just 12% for all municipal waste – it increased by the greatest amount by 2010, reaching 39%, on a par with the average for the EU.
But the European Environment Agency, which released the figures, warned that many countries will fail to meet a European directive of recycling 50% of waste by 2020. Some countries, such as Germany, Austria and Belgium, already recycle more than half of their waste.
Others, in particular those in south-eastern Europe, are straggling far behind: Greece only recycles 18%, up from 9% in 2001, while Romania recycles just 1%. In a few cases, countries have gone backwards, with Norway's rates falling from 44% to 42%, and Finland's dropping from 34% to 33%.
Jacqueline McGlade, EEA executive director, said: "In a relatively short time, some countries have successfully encouraged a culture of recycling, with infrastructure, incentives and public awareness campaigns. But others are still lagging behind, wasting huge volumes of resources. The current intense demand for some materials should alert countries to the clear economic opportunities in recycling."
The EEA said in a statement that "Europe is still wasting vast quantities of valuable resources by sending them to landfill", echoing earlier warnings from Janez Potočnik, the EU commissioner for the environment, that failure to use resources wisely could trigger a fresh economic crisis.
Despite the UK's rapid improvement, the EEA's David Watson cautioned "that [its] growth in … recycling slowed down significantly towards the end of the last decade." The UK is expected to meet the EU target of recycling 50% of waste by around 2017, the EEA noted. Wales has pulled well ahead of England and Scotland on recycling in recent years, recording average rates of 54% last month.
A Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said: "Household recycling has risen from just 11% in 2001 to 43% this year and over half of business waste is now recycled. Government, local authorities and businesses have all worked with the public to achieve this and will continue to do so to meet challenging new targets."
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