On current trends, England will burn more waste than it recycles by the end of the next financial year.
That’s according to a new report from the Green Party, which suggests three regions already burn more than they recycle – London, the West Midlands and the North East.
The Green Party says incineration is a very limited, short-term solution to a long-term problem and claims it gets in the way of modern, greener innovations.
The report shows the amount of waste sent to incinerators or energy-from-waste plants tripled between 2010-11 and 2016-17, contrasting with the stalling household recycling rates witnessed since 2013.
In 2016-17, around four million tonnes of waste were sent to landfill, while about 10 million were incinerated and more than 11 million were recycled or composted.