UK 'worst in Europe on the environment' according to yellow pages recycling survey







The UK is seen as the worst country in Europe at protecting the



environment, according to the latest Yellow Pages Annual Recycling



Survey. Sweden is ranked the greenest country in Europe, with Germany a



close second. But the list of poor performers is easily topped by the



UK, followed by Spain and France.







The survey suggests the UK Government has a huge task ahead to improve



its perceived record on the environment, being awarded an average of



just 4.9 marks out of ten for its performance. Local authorities do



slightly better, scoring an average of 5.7 out of ten.







On the domestic front, households show a dwindling track record on



recycling with a worrying 16 per cent of people polled admitting to



recycling nothing at all. This is up from 13 per cent in the previous



survey. Meanwhile, 31 per cent say they recycle 'only a small amount' -



down from 35 per cent.







Asked why they do not do more, a third of households who say they



recycle nothing, or 'only a small amount', say they cannot be bothered.



Three in ten say their nearest site is too far away, while 16 per cent



say they mean to do more, but just never get round to it.







Just over half - 53 per cent - of UK households do, however, claim to



recycle everything or 'quite a lot'. This is similar to the 52 per cent



recorded in the previous survey. Of those who do recycle, the latest



survey shows an increase in the recycling of newspapers and magazines,



glass, cardboard, plastics and garden produce.







The majority of people surveyed - eight out of ten - buy recycled goods



though, with recycled toilet paper top of the poll. And 60 per cent of



all respondents are willing to pay more for goods with a perceived



environmental benefit. When asked what was the most polluting item they



use, one in five people single out their car, 39 per cent of whom would



be willing to swap it for something more environmental.







Half of all people are interested in knowing about a company's



environmental track record and 12 per cent have boycotted a company



because of it. But the perception amongst almost a quarter is that



companies are doing more for the environment today than they were five



years ago.







Asked to name the nation's 'green heroes', 29 per cent cite the



environmental organisation, Greenpeace and four per cent, Friends of



the Earth. Meanwhile oil and petro-chemical companies are seen as our



environmental 'villains'.







Recycling seen as "a waste of time for most households" in South Africa



survey Here is an interesting insight on attitudes to recycling from



a recent copy of the South African publication Business Day, in



Johannesburg.







Recycling is not ranked very highly in the life of the average South



African. A mere 11% of adults in SA take the effort to recycle material



such as paper, glass, plastic and vegetable waste.







Water recycling fares slightly better, with 16% of South Africans



saving water to reuse in their gardens. As expressed in the March 2000



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