Embargo: 8.30am, Wednesday 23 March.
Photo Opportunity:A larger than life David Cameron sawing in half a dustbin bearing the slogan “It’s time Mr Cameron talked half as much rubbish.”
When: 8.30am, Wednesday 23 March
Where: Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square entrance
Manchester Friends of the Earth campaigners [1] are urging Prime Minister David Cameron to cut rubbish and boost reuse and recycling today (Wednesday 23 March).
The Government is deciding what to do about the country’s rubbish and campaigners want a goal to halve the rubbish that people have to put into their black bin bags.
While councils across Greater Manchester run the local rubbish and recycling collections, they need a boost from Westminster to be able to improve services and send less rubbish to be buried and burnt.
Friends of the Earth groups around the country are taking part in a day of action calling for a nationwide goal halving rubbish, and boosting recycling and re-use. [2]
Colette Humphrey, Joint Co-ordinator of Manchester Friends of the Earth, said:
“People in Greater Manchester are keen to get the rubbish out of their bins – and we’re all frustrated by having to bin unnecessary packaging and the stuff that the council doesn’t recycle.”
“Friends of the Earth’s campaigning brought recycling to everyone’s doorstep – now we want the Government to put in place measures that halve the rubbish that has to go into our black bin bags by 2020.
“More recycling is not only better for the environment, it will also mean hundreds of new jobs across Greater Manchester and lower waste disposal costs for our cash-strapped councils.”
Greater Manchester currently recycles just over a third (33.8 per cent) of rubbish [3] and the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority runs a re-use service for furniture and other household items. [4]
Friends of the Earth wants Local Authorities to be able to recycle and re-use more of our household waste and for more products to be designed to be easy to re-use and recycle.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] Manchester Friends of the Earth is an award-winning environmental campaign group, part of a network of over 220 local Friends of the Earth groups. We raise awareness about environmental issues and lobby for policy changes at a local, regional, national and international level. The group consists entirely of volunteers, and our campaigns are funded by membership fees and individual donations. Up-to-date information is available at: https://www.manchesterfoe.org.uk.
[2] Friends of the Earth is calling on David Cameron to stick to his promise to run the greenest Government ever by halving the rubbish that has to go in our bin. This means boosting recycling and re-use services and making sure that products are built efficiently and designed so they can be easily repaired, reused or recycled. For more information, see:
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/rubbish.pdf
[3] Recycling rates for 2009/10 for individual councils in Greater Manchester are as follows: Bolton 29.1%, Bury 27.8%, Manchester 18.8%, Oldham 36.7%, Rochdale 33.0%, Salford 32.2%, Stockport 41.5%, Tameside 33.7%, Trafford 44.4%, Wigan 33.1%
http://www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/environment/
wastats/download/mwb200910a.xls
[4] Information about local recycling and re-use schemes can be found at: http://www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com
[5]Friends of the Earth campaigned for doorstep recycling from 2001 – 2003. It brought about the Household Waste Recycling Act which resulted in widespread doorstep recycling collections
