'I'm sure they only send it abroad' is a common refrain I've heard when talking about council recycling schemes, and it's starting to look like this belief may be true in many cases. Some councils are happy to admit they send waste abroad, while others keeps schtum. But it's definitely going on, which raises the question is it better to recyle abroad than not recycle at all? I found that it's not nearly as straightforward a question as you might think...
The kneejerk response from most people is to see this practice as a very bad thing, almost putting them off the idea of recycling household waste altogether. But looking more closely at the situation, it isn't as simple as it seems at first glance. I was surprised to see that even Friends of the Earth is not completely opposed to overseas recycling as an option.
Michael Warhurst, a spokesman for the charity recently pointed out that as a major manufacturer, China has a vastly greater need for recycled material (to make into new stuff we'll buy) than we do here in the UK. "We accept there's a place for export, as it's a circular economy. We import a lot so it makes sense to give the Chinese the resources they can use (our recycling) to make things we'll buy", he said.
The main problem with shipping waste or any other products abroad is, of course, the C02. It seems unlikely that the UK would export anywhere near the volume of raw materials it does to the Far East if this 'circular economy' were not in place. Would countries that are big manufacturers then source their materials closer to home while we saw to our own recycling? And then again, would the products of that recycling be of any use to us at home?
Some have argued that if we did not send our waste abroad, we could at least regulate what happens to waste more closely -- this is not possible once it leaves our shores.
The questions are complex, and it's interesting to see even staunch environmentalists are conflicted. But what do you think: is sending waste abroad for recycling justifiable? Yay or nay.
[Via BBC Green]
It does sound bizarre and wasteful to send our recycling abroad but the truth is that before we started doing this there were hundreds of ships carrying empty containers making their way to china and india to bring the next consignment of ipods and Gap tshirts back to Europe. Someone figured out that the containers may as well be filled with recycling to be sorted cheaply by the poor in those countries. So if we stopped sending our recycling abroad it would make no difference to the world's CO2 output (the ships will just make the same journey with no cargo) and a lot of people will be pushed further back into poverty.
Hi Burak
I hadn't thought of that, but you are absolutely right! Those ships must have been significantly emptier on their outward journey before now (if, it is indeed the same ships they now use to transport the waste). I guess it may mean more fuel consumption, but I'd need an expert to tell me how much extra would be needed with cargo vs without. Empty ships seem like a waste either way.