Brits dumped more than a million tonnes of plastic waste in 2016 amid recycling concerns
New figures reveal that just 44.9 per cent of plastic waste was recycled with the rest being dumped
THE scale of Britain’s plastic packaging nightmare was laid bare yesterday as figures revealed more than a million tonnes was dumped in 2016.
Just 44.9 per cent of 2.26million tonnes of plastic waste was recycled – almost half the rate for paper and cardboard, the Department for Environment admitted.
It came as green campaigners united to demand the Government set new “ambitious and legally binding” targets to deal with Britain’s ever growing “packaging waste mountain”.
Britain’s overall packaging waste recycling rate in 2016 edged up to 71.4 per cent in 2016 – the most recent year on record - below the 72.2 per cent achieved in 2013.
Campaigners admitted the amount of plastic packaging waste going to landfill or being destroyed has gone down from 1.5million tonnes to 1.2million since 2013 – a 20 per cent drop.
But Sarah Baulch, senior oceans campaigner at the Environmental Investigation Agency, said: “If we want to avoid seeing turtles trapped in bags and six-pack wrappers and whales washed up on shores dead from ingesting plastic, we need to get drastic on plastic.
“The Government must take radical and decisive action to change our reliance on single-use plastics.”
Chris Tuckett, director of programmes at the Marine Conservation Society insisted: “There’s still a long way to go.
“We are choking our oceans with our plastic – killing marine wildlife and affecting our own health. The public has made it clear that the situation can and must change.
“It is vital that the Government listens and responds by simplifying recycling labelling and getting manufacturers on board with banishing single use plastics.”
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has “declared war” on plastic – with a plan to eliminate all plastic waste within a generation.
The Tory veteran has revealed plans to extend the 5p plastic bags charge to small shops and is mulling refundable deposits on plastic drinks bottles.
Speaking in December, he said he was “haunted” by images of the damage done to the world’s oceans shown in David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II TV series.
Campaigners complain that China’s refusal to take anymore Britain’s plastic, cardboard and paper waste has added to the crisis facing the country.
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They have urged the Government to follow up its commitment to banning microbeads by addressing other areas of waste production.
They claim Wales now ranks fourth in the world for household recycling because it has introduced statutory targets and investing in new recycling infrastructure.
Environment Minister Theresa Coffey insisted: “We have made good progress and in 2016 recycled or recovered over 70% of all packaging waste across the UK, far exceeding the EU target of 60%.
“Recycling of household waste also continues to increase.
She added: “Our 25 year plan for the environment set out our commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it, and we’ll be setting out more detail on how we further increase our recycling rates in our Resources and Waste Strategy later this year.”