On 19 March 2011, Friends of the Earth groups around the country challenged the government to reduce the amount of rubbish we throw away by half by 2020. That would be equivalent to recycling 70% of our current levels of waste.

Members of Nottingham Friends of the Earth were outside the Council House asking David Cameron to “talk half as much rubbish”.

The government will shortly be conducting a review of waste policy. We want David Cameron to stick to his promise to run the greenest government ever by halving the rubbish that goes in the residual bin. That means reducing waste by producing things so they can be easily repaired, reused or recycled. And it means more recycling and better reuse services.

People are keen to get more rubbish out of the residual bin. We’re all frustrated at having to throw away all the stuff our local councils don’t recycle. We particularly want to see all local authorities collecting food waste separately.

For more details see national campaign webpage.

Friends of the Earth campaigned for doorstep recycling from 2001 – 2003, leading to the Household Waste Recycling Act which requires all councils to have kerbside collections for recycling. This has helped to increase recycling levels. But a lot more is possible.

Nationally we throw away each year:

•  6 million tonnes food (worth £424 per person)
• 1.5 million tonnes plastic
• 1 million tonnes electrical/electronic goods, including around 1 million computers
• 100 million mobile phones, containing valuable ‘rare earth’ metals
• 10 million pieces of furniture (of which a third could be reused and more repaired)
• 7.5 billion items of clothing (only one eighth of which go for reuse)