There was an article in today’s i paper advocating the public to stop recycling plastic. Re-Gen Waste is happy to share the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) statement in response to the article:

CIWM is surprised and dismayed to read the opinion piece by Tom Chivers published this morning on the i website, which also appears in the print edition.

The statement “If you put your plastic in your recycling bin, there’s a decent chance it will end up in the seas off east Asia” is fundamentally incorrect and contradicts statistics published by the campaign group Basel Action Network (BAN) in 2021.

BAN data(1) clearly shows that only 2.8% of UK plastics were exported to Asia in 2021, and for India and the Philippines – the assumption being UK plastic ends up there – the data shows that exports to these countries either doesn’t exist or are so small as to not register in their data set.

The opening photo of the article shows a river in Manila clogged with plastic waste, most of which would not come from a UK source.  It is most likely to have originated in the Philippines itself, a developing country with insufficient or ineffective waste management systems in place.

As the leading professional body for the resource and waste management sector, CIWM recognises that recycling can be a complex issue, but sowing mistrust and misinformation amongst the general public with inaccurate articles on the issue of recycling ultimately makes the waste sector’s job much tougher.

CIWM would advise householders to check with their Local Authorities about which materials are collected for recycling and those that are not, and to follow their advice, to avoid contamination.

It is always better to recycle than not.

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(1)  The BAN data is sourced from the UN, which receives UK Trade data and may include data on some non-waste materials.

CIWM: CIWM is the leading professional body for the resource and waste management sector representing over 5,000 individuals in the UK, Ireland and overseas. Established in 1898, CIWM is a non-profit making organisation, dedicated to the promotion of professional competence amongst waste managers. CIWM seeks to raise standards for those working in and with the sector by producing best practice guidance, developing educational and training initiatives, and providing information on key waste-related issues. More information can be found at www.ciwm.co.uk