Targets To Boost Recycling May Backfire, Say Engineers

A BBC News report 1 February, says that pressure on local authorities to meet targets of keeping waste out of landfill is at risk of backfiring, a report has said. The document by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) says councils are focusing too much on the quantity of recycling rather than quality. This is tending to produce a poor-quality stream of recyclable material. Because of this, the lower-grade material sometimes has to be sent to landfill anyway. The report says the waste industry must change its culture so the focus is not only on increasing the quantity of recycled materials but on retaining the quality and value of reusable materials.