DEFRA’s annual report on Local Authority waste management reveals a “disappointing” dip in household recycling rates down 0.7 percentage points to 43.4% in 2022.
The rolling 12-month ‘waste from households’ recycling rate was 43.3 per cent at the end of March 2023. This is a decrease of 0.8 percentage points compared with the previous 12-month period.
However, total ‘waste from households’ decreased to 21.5 million tonnes in 2022, down from 2021 when it was 23.1 million tonnes. This is equivalent to 377 kg per person, down from 409 kg per person in 2021, a decrease of 7.9 per cent.
Nathan Gray, Head of Sustainability at leading international circular economy specialist Reconomy, commented: “It is hugely disappointing that the latest DEFRA report on household recycling shows rates are continuing to stagnate and even trend downwards.
“In the week that Ireland introduced its Deposit Return Scheme – which has been proven to boost household recycling rates above 90% in countries where it is in place – the UK’s waste management remains sub-standard.
“Consumers need simpler ways to understand the importance of reducing waste and easier mechanisms through which they can recycle to encourage long-term positive behaviours. Hopefully the government’s Simpler Recycling proposals will be the inflection point that eliminates a throw-away culture and builds a strong foundation for a more sustainable approach to resource management.
“We have seen a decrease in household waste which is positive, although this is likely to be influenced by the unusually hot summer reducing plant growth, workers returning to the office and the cost of living crisis driving down household spend.
“This year’s 2024 Circularity Gap report revealed that the global circularity gap has dropped from 9.1% to 7.2% meaning we continue to consume more virgin, finite resources than ever before at an unsustainable rate.
“It is an urgent necessity for policyholders, waste producers, businesses and consumers to harness the environmental and economic benefits from reducing waste and increasing circularity.”