With the UK’s population continuing to grow, the waste industry is under increasing pressure, and the need for innovative, sustainable solutions has never been greater. From staggering statistics to surprising insights, here are 10 shocking waste facts that might just change the way you think about rubbish.
1. In 2022, the UK’s household recycling rate was 44.1%, compared to 43.9% in 2012. To have only improved by 0.2% in 10 years shows that we need to do more! We should take a look at what Germany, Austria and South Korea are doing, as they’re world leaders in recycling household waste, with recycling rates of between 60 and 70%!
2. Each person in the UK throws away their own body weight in rubbish every seven weeks on average. The UK produces more than 190 million tonnes of waste every year – a tonne equates to the equivalent weight of a small car, so that’s a lot of waste! In other words, the waste we produce would fill the Albert Hall in London in less than two hours!
3. Waste causes greenhouse gas emissions. Biodegradable items in landfill rot and decompose. This produces methane, which contributes to global warming. This is why TJ are strong supporters of diverting waste from landfill, opting for other options wherever possible. Energy can be recovered from waste, mainly through incineration of refuse derived fuel (RDF), an option that TJ regularly utilises.
4. Globally, a million plastic bottles are purchased per minute and most of this plastic ends up in the ocean. TJ has an on-going partnership with local charity the Final Straw Foundation, whose work revolves around highlighting the impact of plastic pollution on our environment, local seas and wider oceans.
5. The UK uses about 12.5 million tonnes of paper annually, with approximately 67% being recycled. That recycling rate makes it one of the highest recycled materials in the UK, but we can always do better – always make sure you recycle all your paper and card!
6. We throw away around 50 million tonnes of electrical waste globally every year. That’s nearly 4 million double decker buses worth of old computer equipment, TVs, stereos and kitchen appliances, stretching to the moon more than 3 times over! The WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive encourages the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment. TJ offers a WEEE collection and recycling service as part of their commercial waste management offering and will ensure that your WEEE goes to the right place.
7. Each Christmas, as much as 83 square kilometres of wrapping paper ends up in UK bins when much of it could have been recycled instead. Read our blog to find out how you can be more environmentally aware at Christmas time.
8. It is not known how long glass takes to break down, but it is so long that glass made in the Middle East over 3,000 years ago can still be found today. Glass milk bottles are used an average of 13 times before recycling. It takes less energy to recycle glass than it does to make new glass from raw materials. In fact, the glass recycling level in the UK saves enough energy to launch 10 space shuttle missions!
9. Empty aluminium cans are worth up to 20 times more than any other used packaging material. Estimates suggest that at any one time, there are over £30 million worth of cans waiting to be collected and recycled. As a nation, we get through around 16 billion drink cans every year; each one could be recycled back into a new can, saving large amounts of energy, raw materials and waste.
10. It is estimated that up to 80% of the contents of our dustbins could be recycled or composted. At TJ, we recycle up to 100% of the waste that comes through our doors. Our extensive knowledge of a range of recycling centres in and outside of Hampshire helps make all this recycling possible. Our recycling efforts have led to hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste being diverted from landfill.
Simpler Recycling for Businesses is launching on 31 March 2025, and it should make the entire recycling process more consistent and effective for all. Currently, what materials can be recycled in each town, city or county can vary dramatically and has caused much confusion over the years.
This is largely due to the recycling facilities available from county to county, but the Simpler Recycling Legislation is set to change this. It will standardise recycling across the UK, allowing households and businesses to recycle much more. These changes, introduced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), are being undertaken in the hope of meeting the UK’s household waste recycling target of 65% by 2035.
Get in touch to discover how TJ Waste can help you navigate these changes…
For your domestic or trade project, choose from our range of skip size options, which range from 2-yard up to 12-yard, plus 17 or 35-yard containers for commercial use. You’ll find guidance on which size you’re likely to need on our individual skip pages. We can deliver your chosen skip as quickly as the next working day if you wish and you can keep the skip for up to 14 days. Collection date can be arranged at time of booking or you can let us know when you’re done, whatever suits you best.
TJ’s grab vehicles make light work of waste removal. They can take a variety of waste streams, including builder’s waste, inert spoil, concrete, bricks, asphalt and green waste. Our grabs are particularly useful at sites with low walls and fencing surrounding them as they can reach over, removing the need to move the waste manually.
If your business needs to address their waste management processes, TJ can help! We can provide you with total site waste management, partial site waste management, a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) or even waste management for events.
All businesses have a legal responsibility under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and other related legislation to safely contain and legally dispose of any waste produced from your business. If you employ TJ to manage the disposal of your organisation’s waste, please note that we can deal with general waste, recycling, confidential waste and WEEE.
Find out more about our skip hire, grab hire and commercial waste management services and get in touch if you want to know more!
Barney joined TJ Waste in February as an Operations Administrator and is enjoying learning all about the waste industry. Outside of work Barney is an avid football fan and plays five-a-side once a week. He also enjoys live music, Formula 1 and MotoGP.
From small to large-scale construction projects, residential to commercial, alterations to building from scratch, this type of work requires a lot of materials and produces a variety of waste which needs to be handled and disposed of in the correct way.
If you’re looking to hire a skip, but you don’t have a driveway or anywhere that’s accessible to house it on your property, you’ll need a waste permit that will allow you to have it placed on the road in front of your house.
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