Landfill
London exports 70% of its municipal waste out of the capital for treatment or disposal. Source: Environment Agency.
London has historically relied on cheap landfill as the final point of disposal for its waste. Large volumes of material are exported, mainly by road to the Home Counties and beyond. London needs to buy its landfill habit as space is running out. Most landfill sites will be full in a few years, not centuries.
The restrictions on landfill space, coupled with the level of consumption, are driving the demand for better and more appropriate methods of waste management.
Recycling is the number one green activity and UK householders currently produce 35 million tonnes of waste every year, yet 26 million tonnes goes direct to landfill. Source: waste to landfill figures from www.wrap.org.uk
Recycling activity needs to be enhanced with waste minimisation and reuse measures, to lessen our dependence on landfill and to effectively manage the UK's waste.
We're recognising a change in traditional approaches to waste management. There is a shift from the waste management of logistics and landfill, to resource management where waste streams are all seen as a resource, whose value needs to be recaptured through recycling, reuse, reprocessing and remanufacture.
