A new report has revealed promising data for the environmental industry in the U.K.
On May 10, the Environmental Services Association released a report highlighting the tremendous strides the sector has made in recent years to move toward a more green and cleaner nation, reported Sustainable Brands News. Close to nonexistent 26 years ago, the recycling rate across Great Britain has seen an increase of nearly 45 per cent.
The analysis from the resource and waste management industry trade association also revealed that emissions have decreased by 70 per cent since 1990. Supplying the U.K. with 12 per cent of its renewable electricity from recovered energy waste that cannot be recycled economically, the sector has also helped to create job growth across the nation.
Though the news is largely favorable, the report also highlights the unlikelihood that the U.K. will reach its 2020 goal of a 50 percent household recycling rate.
“However, rising costs and depressed commodity markets are putting immense pressure on the sector, and urgent Government intervention is required to ensure the U.K. can continue to manage its resources in both an environmentally and economically sustainable way,” Jacob Haylerin, ESA executive director, said in a press release.
The report urged the nation to secure these practices and avoid reverting back to old recycling rates, according to the press release. In doing so, it offered four suggestions for moving forward: improve waste management infrastructure, put resource ownership on product supply chains, create more resilient recovery markets for waste-derived products and eliminate waste crime.
These proposals, if observed, would help to improve efficiency, drive down costs and enhance motive along the supply chain. It would also help to deliver on private investment. These initiatives could help the U.K. become a world leader in economic and environment sustainability and waste management.