Lord de Mauley, the government's Recycling minister, has commended the effects of national recycling awareness campaign, Recycle Week, now in its 10th year, which starts 17 June.
“Dealing with waste and recycling properly not only makes environmental sense but also good business sense,” said de Mauley. “We've made great strides in household recycling and over the next decade we can look forward to doing much more to reduce waste in the first place.
“Reusing and recycling products and materials will also open up new avenues for UK businesses in growing domestic and export markets.”
Initially launched as ‘The BIG Recycle', the annual event has played an important role in helping consumers understand what can and can't be recycled in a decade, which has seen huge changes and improvements to recycling collections and services, according to Wrap chief executive Liz Goodwin.
“As a nation, we've come a long way since we first began to take recycling seriously,” she said.
“This is good news for the environment – it means we're sending less waste to landfill and making better use of the natural materials that go into the products we use every day.
“It is also hugely important for our economy. The UK recycling sector now generates more than £13bn a year in sales of recycled materials, employs more than 40,000 people and contributes around £3bn-worth of additional value each year to the UK economy.
“The sector has also increased its sales revenue threefold since 1998, outstripping growth in the overall economy over the same period of time.”