Article published in Leicester Mercury Dec 30 2003
Britain needs a new approach to the 21st Century's waste problems - a Zero Waste strategy. It goes well beyond mere recycling. It's better for the environment. It creates jobs. It saves natural resources, conserves huge amounts of energy, closes landfills, prevents waste incineration, and results in much less air and water pollution. It improves public health and helps prevent global warming.
Leicester Council is called on to take the initiative and to adopt a Zero Waste vision and achieve a Zero Waste status by 2020.
ZERO-WASTE POLICY IS CRUCIAL FOR OUR LONG-TERM SURVIVAL
Every year, we produce millions of tonnes of waste. We must do more recycling
Today's throwaway culture is creating waste problems in Britain and across the world. Our lifestyle is based on using the Earth's resources faster than the environment can cope.
Green Party members believe Britain needs a new approach to the 21st century's waste problems - a Zero Waste strategy - which redesigns the current one-way industrial system into a circular system, where products are designed for the environment.
The main goals of Zero Waste are zero discharges, zero atmospheric damage and zero material waste. Everything will be recycled or reused. Biodegradable materials will replace toxic ones, allowing products to be returned as nutrients to the soil.
The new concept will create jobs, save natural resources, conserve energy, close landfill sites, prevent waste incineration and improve public health.
Britain must prepare for a big change in the way it handles the 100 million tonnes of waste produced in homes, businesses and factories every year. This is rising at three per cent a year.
In Leicester, we are producing a waste mountain of around 145,000 tonnes, but only 14 per cent was recycled last year. That should improve significantly with the new Biffa recycling-compost plant.
Britain is a recycling dinosaur, dealing with just 13 per cent of its waste, compared with 50 per cent or more in some other European countries. Even though waste recycling is economical and just two-thirds the cost of landfill, Tony Blair plans only 50 per cent recycling and composting by 2015, burning and dumping the rest.
That is not the answer. Many landfill sites are filling up, generating air pollution and toxic liquids which could get into the water table, and they are a major source of greenhouse gases. Large-scale waste elimination would help us meet our Kyoto Summit obligations.
We need a radical strategy to solve our waste crisis. Zero Waste is the simplest and most cost-effective.
We could eliminate, rather than manage waste and could achieve 80 per cent recycling-composting within three to five years.
Zero Waste also offers great business opportunities. Major corporations (Toyota, Dupont, Honda and Xerox) have Zero Waste strategies.
Businesses including breweries, supermarkets, animal sanctuaries and computer suppliers have drastically reduced waste in just a few years and saved millions.
In Germany, the waste and recycling industry is a bigger employer than steel or telecommunications. A Green Party report showed the UK could create at least 50,000 jobs by pursuing a Zero Waste strategy.
New Zealand, Western Australia and California are all aiming for Zero Waste status by 2020 - and Bath and north east Somerset are already supporting the Zero Waste concept. Zero Waste should be the goal for Leicester.
Leicester City Council should take the initiative and sign the Zero Waste Charter. All Government departments should adopt Zero Waste. The Government should be pressed for a minimum recycling content in all products and lifespan labelling on electrical products.
Achieving Zero Waste is not only feasible, it is perhaps crucial for our long-term survival.