UK: Huge reuse potential’ in bulky waste

More than half of all bulky waste items taken to household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) could be re-used, according to a new report published by WRAP today (August 16). The new report also claims that 40% of bulky items collected at the kerbside, such as sofas and televisions, could be re-used. Of bulky items taken to an HWRC, 32% were estimated to be re-usable in their current condition, increasing to 51% if items requiring slight repair (but in otherwise good condition) were taken into account.

For items collected at kerbside, 24% were estimated to be re-usable in their current condition, rising to 40% if items requiring slight repair were taken into account.

‘Composition and re-usability of bulky waste in the UK’– is the first UK-wide piece of research to look at the composition of bulky waste in the UK, in order to assess the potential for re-use. It follows a report WRAP published last year on the environmental and economic benefits of re-use.

National estimates derived from WasteDataFlow, the online database for UK municipal waste reporting, suggest that across the UK during 2010/11, some 1.6 million tonnes of bulky waste was collected at the kerbside or taken to HWRCs. Approximately twice as much is taken to HWRCs (1 million tonnes) than is collected at the kerbside (540,000 tonnes).

Using the above data and extrapolating the sample findings across all UK kerbside and HWRC bulky waste collections, the report suggests that of all bulky waste in the UK, (including both kerbside collected and HWRC bulky items), around 42% consists of furniture, 19% textiles and 19% WEEE. These estimates equate to 670,000 tonnes of furniture and 310,000 tonnes each of textiles and WEEE disposed of by householders in the UK annually.

Mervyn Jones, head of products and materials at WRAP, said: “There is a perception that many bulky items taken to household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) or collected at kerbside are not re-usable. However, this research shows that there is significant re-use potential to be realised from these items.

“This research will help local authorities and HWRC operators to remove these items from the waste stream, either for re-sale or for passing on to the third sector.”

Link to report here

UK: Reducing food waste when eating out

Love Food Hate Waste campaign has lots of tips and advice to help everyone reduce the amount of food we throw away at home, and now they are looking at ways to cut food waste when we eat out too. Watch our short video to find out what people say about the food they waste when eating out:



Leading hospitality and food service companies are playing their part and have signed up to a new agreement. WRAP is working with them to reduce food and packaging waste and increase recycling rates. The voluntary agreement aims to cut food and associated packaging waste by 5% (a CO2e reduction of 234,000 tonnes), the equivalent of about 100 million meals.

As part of this work, they are developing ideas for how we can all waste less food when we eat out – lots more information will follow over the next few months.

World: Alarming rise in amount and costs of waste

A new World Bank study projects a 70% global increase in urban solid waste – with developing countries facing the greatest challenges.

Developing country cities, already coping with burgeoning populations, scarce financial resources, and limited capacity to manage environmental issues, are facing a sharp rise in the amount and costs of garbage that they will be required to deal with by 2025. A new report from the World Bank’s Urban Development department estimates the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) will rise from the current 1.3 billion tonnes per year to 2.2 billion tonnes per year by 2025. Much of the increase will come in rapidly growing cities in developing countries.

The report, What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management, for the first time offers consolidated data on MSW generation, collection, composition, and disposal by country and by region.The report notes that municipal solid waste management is the most important service a city provides. In low-income countries, MSW is often the largest single budget item for cities, and one of the largest employers. A city that cannot effectively manage its waste is rarely able to manage more complex services such as health, education, or transportation.

The report says that a number of practical approaches could be applied in most cities, including:

• Public education to inform people about their options to reduce waste generation and increase recycling and composting;
• Pricing mechanisms (such as product charges) to stimulate consumer behavior to reduce waste generation and increase recycling;
• User charges tied to the quantity of waste disposed of, with (for example) consumers separating recyclables paying a lower fee for waste disposal; and/or
• Preferential procurement policies and pricing to stimulate demand for products made with recycled post-consumer waste.