The government have committed themselves to increasing the amount of household waste that is recycled and in the UK for the year 2006/2007, the target of a 25% reduction in household waste was exceeded, as part of a wider initiative to reduce carbon fuel emissions overall. The targets now set for 2010 are for a 30% reduction. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) most recent statistics suggest that we currently recycle 26.7% of our household waste (2005/2006 figures). However, some people argue that the actual figure is much less and we need to do more to encourage recycling.
The government aim for a total cut of landfill to 75% of its 1995 levels by 2010, in line with the EU Landfill Directive (1999). Household waste contributes nearly 10% of all waste, the majority of which is land filled. Therefore there is a high incentive for the government and local authorities to encourage recycling. The household waste recycling act (2003) states that all local authorities must provide doorstep collection facilities for households to recycle at least two major forms of waste by 2010 (i.e. paper and plastic, or paper and glass, etc.).