According to a survey by Savanta for enfinium, 72 per cent of the British public believe waste should be dealt with domestically instead of being shipped overseas.
Currently, the UK exports over 2 million tonnes of waste, and over 12 million tonnes continue to go to landfill.
Both exporting and landfilling combustible waste mean that the UK misses out on baseload, reliable energy that can be generated in the UK’s state-of-the-art energy-from-waste facilities.
The amount of waste that England exports is increasing.
New figures published by the Environment Agency on 20 November showed that England exported 9.5% more RDF (a type of waste used in energy-from-waste facilities) in the year to date compared to 2022.
Mike Maudsley, enfinium CEO, comments: “The UK has a waste problem.
To fix it, we need to consume less and reuse more; we must increase recycling rates, and we need to put that which is left over to good use here in the UK, not bury it in a hole in the ground or send it overseas.
By diverting waste from climate-damaging landfill and putting an end to waste exports, we can reduce our emissions
This is better for the environment and better for the UK.”
Survey methodology
The survey was conducted by Savanta via their weekly UK omnibus with fieldwork taking place during the 6th to 9th of October 2023.
Data was weighted to be UK nationally representative across age, gender and region.
