HALF a million tons of “recycling” is being dumped in landfill or incinerated every year, alarming stats show.
Council chiefs say they are being forced to chuck waste that unwitting families have put in green bins because companies are still not making it recyclable.
Businesses must make the switch to 100 per cent recyclable packaging or pay for the cost of landfill, the Local Government Association said.
Their environment chief David Renard said: “Councils are working towards net zero with one hand tied behind their back — courtesy of manufacturers littering communities with plastic that cannot be disposed of sustainably.”
Around 525,000 tons of rubbish collected in recycling bins in 2019/20 had to be rejected.
Each tonne of rubbish wrongly sent for recycling costs councils nearly £100.
The rise in internet shopping during Covid has seen families deluged with bulky packaging this year.
Boris Johnson is leading a drive to slash climate changing carbon emissions ahead of the big COP eco summit being held in Glasgow this year.
The PM has vowed to usher in a new generation of eco jobs and wants to drive recycling rates up.
This week he backed a bottle return scheme — in a win for HOAR’s Show Some Bottle campaign.
Ministers are consulting on giving Brits 20p back for each plastic bottle they recycle.
A No10 spokesman said last night: “He is keen on the idea of a bottle deposit scheme and we have government work going on just such a scheme.”
