Local authorities are being urged to check where their collected recyclables are going today, in the light of last night's BBC documentary suggesting British recyclable materials are being dumped in foreign landfills.

Environment Agency chief executive Barbara Young said today that there is a "legitimate and growing" market for recovered material abroad, but that it was up to councils and waste managers to ensure export rules are being followed.

The documentary "Real Story", fronted by Fiona Bruce, reported last night on consignments of recovered paper exported to Holland and Indonesia (see letsrecycle.com story).

The programme claimed the shipments contained ordinary household rubbish rather than just paper, although reporter Morland Sanders conceded that while there was no evidence material found would be recycled, there was no evidence it was destined for a landfill either.

EA

The Environment Agency said today that 11 cases involving the alleged illegal export of waste are currently being investigated. The Agency undertook a week-long investigation at an un-named UK port during October, which found 75% of checked containers did not fully comply with shipment rules (see letsrecycle.com story) .

Under the regulations, it is illegal to export waste for disposal – but it can sent abroad for recycling. The maximum penalty for exporting waste illegally is an unlimited fine or up to 2 years in prison, the Agency said.

Baroness Young warned: "We don’t want to stop legitimate recycling but we will come down hard on anyone we catch breaking the rules."

She went on: "It's absolutely essential that we can be sure that when we put our glass and paper into the recycling box that it does end up being properly recycled.

“There is a legitimate and growing market abroad for recyclables, but there are rules to ensure that it’s done properly. We will continue to work with Government and industry to raise awareness of the rules and ensure that workable standards are in place, but local authorities and waste managers need to check that waste collected for recycling is dealt with properly,” said the Agency chief executive.

WRAP

The Waste and Resources Action Programme has also today called on councils and the Environment Agency to make sure recyclables are genuinely being recycled.

WRAP, which is to launch a Christmas recycling campaign later this month, is hoping fall-out from last night's documentary can be prevented by assuring householders that "separating rubbish for recycling is worthwhile".

WRAP chief executive Jennie Price said: "Local councils and the Environment Agency need to play their part by making sure that what is put out for recycling genuinely gets recycled. In this way, we can all use the growing number of recycling services available to us with confidence."

While the BBC documentary highlighted one company in its investigation of exports of household waste, WRAP today pointed out that across the UK, "there are many recycling plants in the UK, reprocessing millions of tonnes of material every year".

Mrs Price said: "There is no doubt that when rubbish is actually recycled, there are very real environmental benefits. Recycling conserves raw materials and saves energy, and also reduces our reliance on landfill sites, where rotting rubbish emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas."