Experts in the field of waste management were recently polled about whether or not they felt the United Kingdom would meet the recycling targets set by the European Union. The EU laid out specific goals for each member country to reach by the year 2013. Most experts in the field believe that the goals outlined by the EU directive will not be met in the United Kingdom unless a major overhaul is done in its recycling and waste management schemes.
A poll of industry leaders revealed that nearly seventy percent felt that the United Kingdom would fail to reach the 2013 targets, although there was some optimism about the lesser goals set for 2010, and the chances that goals set for 2020 would also be reached in the UK. The EU directive mandated that all member countries reduce their landfills by half by the year 2013, a goal that many in the UK feel will not be met.
The survey also attempted to discover the reasons behind the failure to meet the goals, which have been exceeded in other EU countries. The main barrier as reported by the study was planning, with many saying that the UK needs stronger national promotion of recycling and waste management and that the government needs to make it a priority.
Others felt that a lack of technology was the biggest roadblock to complete the goal, as efficient ways to dispose of things like used tyres and IT waste have not yet been discovered. This has led to a series of illegal dumping and scams which target businesses who don’t know how to properly dispose of waste.
|
|
