The New Year has done nothing to alleviate the growing problem of plastic pollution. A huge pile of plastic rubbish has washed up on a beach to the north of Beirut with plastic bags, bottles and packaging covering the beach.
More Mediterranean countries are facing the consequences of inadequate waste management policies with its potentially harmful effects including toxic materials in the ocean, and the transportation of rubbish around their scenic coastlines.
Lebanon is just one country where the failure of waste management is being identified as a major government problem. Sadly it would appear that rubbish is being burned and dumped into the sea.
In Europe a target to recycle 65% of urban waste will be put to a vote of EEC members later this year.
The UK is having difficulties of achieving its recycling targets with currently the recycling rate stalled at 44%.
A proposed new national UK scheme aims to fight the growing scourge of waste created by single-use plastic water bottles. Customers will be encouraged to refill their water bottles, free of charge, in tens of thousands of shops, cafes, businesses and water fountains.
This new refill campaign will be supported with an app where users can find out where the nearest refill point is. Whitbread is the first company to sign up support for the new scheme, pledging to provide free drinking water in each of its 3,000 Costa Coffee and Premier Inn locations from March.
In the UK alone over 16 million plastic bottles are put into landfill, burned or leak into the environment and oceans every day.
Recycal would love to see Australia take a stronger stand to improve its recycling rates through a ‘ban on landfills’, and stopping the storage of waste materials. There are options available and these need to be vigorously pursued.
Recycal is aware of the growing needs of our community and actively supports voluntary waste management programs. In conjunction with its sister company CMA Ecocycle they collaborate and work together to assist their clients handle and process all types of recycling problems. Recovering valuable metals and materials for reuse and reprocessing is a key priority for the team.