Don’t Rubbish Our Recycling (Canterbury & Whitstable Liberal Democrats)

Canterbury & Whitstable Liberal Democrats <info@cantlibdem.org.uk>

Don’t Rubbish Our Recycling

February 6, 2012 10:05 AM
By Catherine Bearder MEP

I devoted a large chunk of time recently to debating a load of old rubbish. We have all learned to be conscientious and recycle bottles, cans and paper. Yet still adopt an 'out-of-sight, out-of-mind' attitude when it comes to dumping a defunct fridge. One million tonnes is thrown out every year in the UK.

That is the scale of the problem caused by producing more electrical waste than ever before. Dud mobile phones, wobbling washing machines and analogue TVs are all headed to the scrapheap. It is even more important we make sure our councils and governments across Europe start to treat old electrical gear as valuable raw material, not just junk. This week new regulations were tabled which will see 45 per cent of all waste electrical equipment recycled in 2014, rising to 65 per cent by 2019.

But, more importantly, we need to make people think about where their recycled waste ends up. My new campaign Don't Rubbish Our Recycling aims to shed some light on the final destination of your household waste. It will also raise awareness of one of the horrific legacies when fuses blow on electrical items for the last time: the impact on developing countries.

For too long we have dumped our toxic, e-waste on Africa. Countries, such as Nigeria, don't have the infrastructure to deal with it properly. That means the waste ends up on unmonitored dumping sites where it is burnt allowing deadly gases into water and food supplies.

You can watch my speech on this topic here and sign up to support the campaign here.