Apologies, a slight mistake on my part re this post.
According to the Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap),
recycling currently saves between 10-15m tonnes of greenhouse gases a
year compared to other waste management options.
I, very foolishly, read that as the future plans for more recycling will produce such savings. Of course, it says no such thing, rather, that the current amount of recycling does so. Which, when you look at the report it comes from, makes great sense.
For they are including in this the energy (and thus the CO2 savings) of the recycling of aluminium and steel, amongst other things. Those two even I would agree are worth recycling, not least because you make a profit by doing so, a clear indication that it’s an economically sensible thing to do.
It’s also worth noting (I’ve only skimmed the report) that there are indeed methods of recycling identified which increase CO2 emissions, like glass into aggregate.
I’m perfectly happy with the idea that some forms of recycling reduce emissions, do indeed save resources, just as long as people will agree that there are also types which do not….and that the task is to work out which is which, then do the sensible ones and not do the stupid ones.
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