Waste: Wirral lagging behind when it comes to recycling

Less than a third of waste in Wirral is sent for recycling, leaving nearly 100,000 tonnes going to landfill or being burnt each year.

In 2015, Wirral Council pledged to recycle more than 50% of household waste by 2020 but in 2021, it is actually recycling 5.5% less than it did in 2013.

In 2021, 133,648 tonnes of household waste was collected in Wirral with only 42,691 tonnes, roughly 32% sent to be recycled, reused or composted. This is the equivalent of 280.6 kilograms of waste per person going to landfill or incineration every year and places Wirral 285th out of 338 councils in England for recycling rates.

Councillor Liz Grey said she wanted to see Wirral lead the way but the council was currently unable to do that: "We are really ambitious when it comes to our plans for future recycling in Wirral, but we have to work with the other councils and the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA). Our hands are tied in a number of ways."

Cllr Grey insisted the council was not sitting on its hands and pointed to community compost groups, entering talks with the MRWA, and a Magenta scheme to upcycle old furniture as examples.

Plastic bottle recycling in Wirral is 21.3% less compared to other UK councils but one bright spot is Wirral recycles 31.2% more paper. For all dry recycling, Wirral Council recycles 4kg more per household than the UK average.

Jane Turner, Chair of the Green Party, said: "I think it is both a lack of investment and lack of motivation. It should be easy. Recycling shouldn't be so difficult. 

"Ultimately we want a situation where people can use kerbside recycling and know it is being recycled.It is not the plastics themselves that are the problem. It is getting better use out of plastic. Some plastics, if used responsibly, have a lower carbon footprint than glass or some fabric."

Nearby Liverpool is in the bottom 2% with only 23.5% sent to recycling, reused or composted. 48,580 tonnes out of 206,427 tonnes were sent for recycling with only four councils recycling less waste than Liverpool.

Garden waste is processed by Wirral Council but non-recyclable waste and dry recycling, i.e. plastic, metal and paper, is collected by local councils including Liverpool and Wirral Councils and is then processed by the MRWA. Across Merseyside, 35% of waste was sent to be recycled, a 2% fall from the previous year. 

The MRWA has a target of recycling 55% of all Liverpool City Region waste and 70% of plastic wastes by 2025. If this target was achieved, it would place the Merseyside area in the top 11% of England.

An MRWA spokesperson said: "A number of factors have affected recycling rates across the Liverpool City Region in recent years, and at councils and local authorities across the UK, including economic issues and funding, new or changing recycling services, a severe reduction in resources for communications and awareness, and of course in the past two years the effects of the pandemic.

"The pandemic impacted household waste levels in the Liverpool City Region, with people having spent a lot more time at home over the last two years or so. This is reflected in the amount of residual waste per household increasing from 652kg to 706kg in 2020/2021. As a consequence, the region's overall recycling rate stands at 35%, a 2% fall from 2019/20.

"The approach to recycling is rapidly changing. We're anticipating new legislation coming out in due course mandating the collection of a consistent recycling at the kerbside. We expect these changes to include a wider range of plastics, such as pots, tubs & trays; and also, food waste collections.

"In addition, the new Plastics Packaging Tax was introduced earlier this year placing new requirements on manufacturers and importers of plastic components (which is expected to stimulate the plastics reprocessing market). We are actively exploring opportunities for accepting a wider range of plastics from kerbside collections as part of our own Climate Action Plan."

The MRWA said more plastics would be able to be recycled in due course and said the region was developing a zero waste strategy to support achieving net-zero by 2040.

When asked whether this was achievable, Jane Turner said: "I think it's more than possible technically, but also unambitious. My understanding is that nearly 100% of plastic waste is recyclable so incineration should be an absolute last resort. Cheshire West and Chester are already at 54.5% so it's clearly feasible."

Vida Wilson, a Conservative councillor on Wirral's environment committee said: "Certainly the council are very keen on recycling and as councillors we are determined to get a higher percentage of waste recycled."

Cllr Grey accused the Conservatives of blocking what she saw as progress: "With their own Government promoting increased recycling and especially food waste recycling, hopefully we won't see opposition councillors running campaigns against such essential environmental progress, as they did when Wirral Council last proposed this in 2016."

Conservative councillors then opposed introducing food waste disposal over concerns it would make life more difficult for residents. Cllr Grey believes residents are now "more environmentally aware" and would support the policy.

The UK government pledged to introduce separate food waste collection by 2023, to be collected weekly as outlined in the Environment Act 2021.