Michael Fabricant today called for a national recycling scheme that would
revolutionise recycling in Britain. Michael has signed a Parliamentary
motion to put pressure on the Government to take decisive action on
recycling. Currently the UK lags way behind other countries on its
recycling record, recycling a pathetic 11% of household waste, in comparison
to 52% in Switzerland, 48% in Austria and Germany, and 46% in the
Netherlands.

Michael Fabricant says: "Failure to ensure that recycling schemes are
expanded to the doorstep will inevitably mean more rubbish going to landfill
sites or incinerators. At the last election, the Conservative Party
promised to introduce doorstep recycling to every home. Unfortunately the
Labour Party failed to make the same promise. Currently, 42 % of Labour
local authorities have no provision for separating recyclable material from
household waste; this figure compares to 29% for Liberal Democrat
authorities and only 19% for Conservative Authorities. I believe that
effective recycling is the only long term solution to UK’s growing waste
problem. We need to set ambitious targets. Most constituents I meet want
to recycle and do their bit for the environment, but all too often it is
just too inconvenient or difficult to get to the right facilities. By
making recycling as easy as putting the rubbish out, we will start to see
real progress. I am pleased that Lichfield District Council is setting a
good example in this area".

Martyn Williams, Senior Parliamentary Campaigner for Friends of the Earth,
says "We congratulate Michael for signing the Motion, an important move
supporting doorstep recycling to every home. Easy and effective recycling
will benefit us all, creating jobs locally and saving resources. The
Government must follow the Conservative example here to lift the UK from
having one of the worst recycling records in Europe".