LGA warns wasted goods worth over £400 million
28 Mar 2014 01:04 PM
Even in these times of austerity, households are
binning far too many perfectly serviceable goods worth over £400 million
every year, new research reveals. The reusable items sent into landfill, from
armchairs to kettles and televisions, weigh as much as 90,000
elephants.
The
Local Government Association (LGA) is calling on the nation to join in a new
reuse drive that can save taxpayers millions, help support local causes, and
prevent unnecessary use of the country's landfill sites by finding new
homes for unwanted but functional items.
The
report of the LGA's Reuse Commission, released yesterday,
shows:
- Almost 615,000 tonnes of material is currently disposed
of in England, even though it has the potential to be reused each
year.
- This could equate to a £60 million saving to
council tax payers, worth £3 a household, through diverting waste from
landfill
- The
sale of textiles that could be reused would be worth up to £143 million
and resale of reusable Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) could
have a value of up to £231 million per year.
- In
total there could be up to £435 million of value through reuse available
each year to local authorities and their reuse partners
- Reuse can also bring significant social value and can
support local causes, charitable organisations, training and job
creation.
While consumers will have different reasons for throwing
items away, some goods, particularly electrical, can be difficult or costly to
repair or can be seen as older models. The LGA would like to see manufacturers
make it easier or cheaper for items to be repaired.
The
report highlights a range of methods and best practice in reuse including eBay,
Freecycle, local projects, charities and social enterprises as well as informal
arrangements between residents.
Launching the report, Cllr Mike Jones, Chair of the
LGA's Environment and Housing Board, said: "Every year, a mountain of
televisions, kettles, furniture and other items are thrown away, even though
they are not broken and could be re-used. We're calling for councils and
consumers to join together to find new homes for these goods, which will not
only save taxpayers money, but reduce the amount of waste unnecessarily sent to
landfill.
"We know lots of consumers already find new homes
for their unwanted items, which saves taxpayers from paying for collection and
treatment. But there are opportunities for far more reuse of a range of goods,
and we want consumers to get involved and play a bigger part in
this.
"Landfilling is expensive and the cost of disposing
of unwanted but reusable items is £90 million, money which could be saved
from our council tax bills."
Councillor Clyde Loakes, Chair of the LGA's Reuse
Commission, said: "Government, councils, the waste industry and voluntary
groups need to work together with consumers to highlight the potential of
reuse. We want to see a vibrant reuse culture which provides jobs, training and
value to our society and economy and which puts money in taxpayers'
pockets.
"Our recommendations look at ways to make reusing
products easy and accessible and proposals to give consumers the confidence to
buy reused goods. This will help raise the profile of reuse, and enable
residents to think about ways that they could find new homes for household
goods.
"We also want to see a thriving market for reuse
goods. To do this we need to make it viable for new reuse businesses to enter
the market by offering tax breaks and designing opportunities to reuse goods at
the earliest opportunity."
Full report and research documents
below:
Contact
Victoria Daly, Senior Media Officer
Local Government Association
Telephone: 020 7664 3308
Email: victoria.daly@local.gov.uk
Media Office (out-of-hours contact): 020 7664 3333
Local Government House, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HZ
www.local.gov.uk
Follow the LGA press team on www.twitter.com/LGANews