The Knowaste recycling process enables local authorities, and healthcare and day care providers to face up to the challenges of ever tougher environmental legislation and increasing costs of sending waste to landfill.

The UK has the highest level of landfill in Europe, currently 80 per cent of the 29 million tonnes of municipal waste produced goes to landfill. Local Authorities in England spend around £2.19 billion a year on waste collection (DEFRA) and disposal largely spent through contracts with the private sector and dominated by disposal at landfill sites.

In order to encourage waste diversion from landfill, the UK Government is increasing the landfill tax escalator so that the standard rate of tax will increase by £8 per year from 2008 until at least 2010/ 2011 (from £24 per tonne to £48 per tonne in 2010).

In addition, the Waste Strategy for England, recently published by DEFRA, sets new targets to reduce the amount of household waste which is not reused, recycled or composted. The aim is to achieve a reduction of 29% (15.8m tonnes) by 2010 and 45% (12.2m tonnes) by 2020. The Waste Strategy also reveals that the Government is considering landfill restrictions for recyclable materials, which could also mean nappies in the future, once the Knowaste process is introduced.

Next: The Costs of Recycling >