Glasgow North Liberal Democrats Back National Recycling Week

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 2nd Jun 2008

A UK-wide campaign to encourage people to recycle more of their household waste has been backed by Liberal Democrats in Glasgow North.

National Recycling Week is being held on 2nd - 8th June. This is the fifth year it has been held. It is run by Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a national organisation set up to help people produce less waste and advise on how best to deal with rubbish in an environmentally friendly way.

Katy Gordon, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Glasgow North said, "In Glasgow the recycling and composting rate is 17.9%, the worst performance of all 32 local authorities in Scotland. That means we still have a long way to go before we are dealing with our waste in a way that does not leave a lasting problem for generations to come.

"Liberal Democrats in Glasgow North are delighted to be able to back National Recycling Week. We are encouraging as many residents as possible to make small changes in their lifestyles which will make large strides to ensuring we do not wreck our environment.

"We waste a huge amount of food each year - on average we throw away 112kg of food each, most of which is still usable. People can avoid this waste by doing simple things such as producing a shopping list of what food is needed, rather than wandering around the supermarket buying what takes your fancy!

"Last year in the UK, it was estimated that we spent £8 billion on food that was still fit to be used when it was thrown away. Being green can save money! But if you do produce food waste, why not get a compost bin if you have a garden?

"People should also try to buy food and other goods which have less packaging. And full use should be made of recycling facilities to dispose of waste. It is better that waste is turned back into something that is useful rather than dumped in the ground.

Although living in a tenement makes recycling more difficult as the council don't provide enough facilities, I have recently donated my tumble drier to charity to create more space to store my waste for recycling and it has really opened my eyes to how much packaging there is in every day items. That is why I fully support my Liberal Democrat colleague, Jo Swinson MP for East Dunbartonshire, in her campaign to reduce excess packaging.

"There is a limit to how much rubbish we can throw into holes in the ground. There comes a point when we have to say that we cannot go on getting rid of waste in this way.

"I am therefore delighted that National Recycling Week is underway. I hope it will be a great success and will help residents of Glasgow North to cut waste and live greener lifestyles."