A recent report which aimed to rank recycling and waste management in Europe found that London was one of the dirtiest cities in all of Europe. The report, which referred to London as the dirty man of Europe, was conducted by the Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling. The study found that London has less bin collections than any other city in the European Union. This study reinforces the need for the United Kingdom to make a bigger effort in its recycling and waste management schemes.
While bins in London are only collected once a week, the study showed that in Bucharest collection happens twice a week; while in Paris bins are picked up daily. Studies have found that more frequent bin collection leads to increased recycling and less contamination of recyclables. The longer rubbish bins sit around, the more likely people are to mix items which cannot be recycled with those that can. This also leads to the increased size of landfills in the United Kingdom.
The study found that over half of all of London’s waste ends up in a landfill, a staggering figure when compared to other cities around Europe. Some cities, like Copenhagen for example, send less than one percent of their rubbish to landfills, so it is obvious London has some catching up to do.
One reason given for the large amounts of landfill waste is that London has not yet adopted a wide spread policy of incinerating refuse. Rubbish incinerators can actually use the heat created to make electricity, which makes it is a greener option for power. In addition, incineration keeps things like food waste out of landfills, which lessens the amount of methane released into the ground.
|
|
