§ Baroness Howe of Idlicoteasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the estimated volume of household waste from national newspapers, both daily and weekend; and what is the estimated cost to local authorities and others of collecting and disposing of used newspapers; and [HL5884]
What percentage of household waste is attributable to used newspapers; and [HL5885]
What percentage of used newspapers are (a) recycled, or recycled more than once; (b) composted; or (c) incinerated, or otherwise disposed of, for example at landfill sites. [H L5887]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty):Data on the amount and composition of household waste are generally by weight, not volume. Recent estimates indicate that newspapers and magazines comprise at least 1.5 million tonnes of household waste in England, approximately 7 per cent by weight.
Though highly variable, the average collection cost to local authorities operating kerbside collection of paper for recycling is estimated to be about £75 per tonne, as opposed to an average £25 per tonne for bring sites. Again reflecting local variations in the market for waste treatment options, costs of disposal vary considerably, landfill showing a range of about £6 to £16 per tonne (without adding landfill tax).
35WAThe market value of the recovered paper will depend on its quality and on the demand for it. The Waste and Resources Action Programme is working to overcome barriers in markets for recovered materials and recycled goods; this should help local authorities find buyers for recovered paper, as well as making recycling more economic across all waste streams.
Assessing the proportion of used newpapers that are recycled is difficult; current estimates are that between 40 per cent and 55 per cent of the 1.5 million tonnes is collected for recyling. There are few data on what happens to the remainder, but it is likely that much of it is landfilled, as 78 per cent of all household waste is currently landfilled.
Newpapers may be recycled more than once and they comprise roughly 80 per cent of household paper waste sent for recycling in the UK. Under the voluntary agreement that the Newspaper Publishers' Association has with Government, newspapers already contain over 60 per cent recycled material.