A new report published by the Surrey Environment Partnership (SEP) reveals what happened to waste produced in Surrey in 2019-20 and shows that 83,613 tonnes of waste that could have been recycled wasn’t because it was put into rubbish bins. This is equivalent to the weight of over 6,500 double decker buses.
It is bad for the environment when items that can be recycled are put in rubbish bins and it costs Surrey councils a significant amount too.
For example, if the food waste that was put into rubbish bins by Surrey residents had been recycled instead, it would have saved Surrey councils nearly £3.5 million during 2019-20 alone.
Residents can help make sure they are putting the right things in their recycling bins by checking on the Surrey Recycles search tool and app, which allows residents to enter their postcode and the item they are throwing away to find out which bin it goes in.
The report also reveals that 501,797 tonnes of waste was produced in Surrey in 2019-20. 56.3% of it was recycled, 36.9% was turned into energy and 6.8% was sent to landfill.
It also reveals that 85.8% of recycling was recycled in the UK with 65% of rubbish processed in the UK.
The report, along with a handy infographic and map, can be found on the SEP website.