Waste and consumer habits
Surrey has made great leaps in improving its disposal of waste, with one of the highest rates of recycling in the country, but we have stalled. We currently recycle 55% of our waste, still looking to achieve our county-wide target of 70%.
We need to push beyond this traditional approach to waste, thinking about circular economy principles – reducing the creation of waste in the first place through better design, reuse of materials and ending single-use.
What are you doing to reduce the waste you create and how can Surrey’s authorities and businesses support you in this endeavour?
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Updated 11 May 2020
Updated 11 May 2020
Surrey's Greener Future
Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 2DW
Penrhyn Road
Kingston upon Thames
KT1 2DW
© Surrey County Council 2020
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Made By 
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Surrey's Greener Future
Penrhyn Road
Kingston upon Thames
KT1 2DW
© Surrey County Council 2020
Made By 
Perhaps we should be encouraging community composts at local allotments as well to reduce our need to purchase pre-grown compost. It’s great that food waste goes to produce energy but perhaps having a portion that goes to unifying communities and having local level sustainability would also be another good section to the system.
Is it true that Surrey does not currently recycle non-clear plastic
Switzerland has great community recycling bins that are sunk into the ground, so they don’t clutter the street. Could these encourage recycling in public areas as well as the home?
https://www.newlyswissed.com/a-primer-on-recycling-in-switzerland-2/amp
How do we know our recycled waste is genuinely recycled, rather than just shipped abroad to make waste mountains there.
Can you encourage people to use recyclable materials, including plastics, that are easy to recycle rather than composites like plastic lined cardboard (which seem to be so popular post Blue Planet) and tetrapaks which are far less recyclable than glass or single type plastic.
Lots of best practice overseas not implemented here. Scope out what’s out there & put it into practice here – e.g. automate recycling of cans & bottles in shopping centres, giving people points they can redeem for sessions at health centres or shows/films at The Harlequin. Over 60 years ago, Die Efteling theme park in The Netherlands introduced litterbins that burped & said thankyou when you put rubbish in them. From then on, they’ve had kids running around keeping the park spotless, because the kids want to make the bins burp. It wasn’t a huge step once you’ve got an enthusiastic & participative audience like that, to start teaching about recycling or to move on to getting the kids to sort out the litter. Bottles & cans in bins of one colour, paper in another, general waste in another – each bin type giving a different reaction. Not saying I want that in Reigate town centre! But you need to be far far more imaginative than currently!