Quiz: the state of recycling in the UK

Plastic collected by Wastesavers community recycling group from households in Newport, South Wales.
Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

1. 

   How many households use recycling schemes for their used electronics?

   1. 50%

   2. 10%

   3. 35%

   4. 15%

2. 

   Of the 38.5m plastic bottles used every day in the UK, only just over half are recycled. The amount of plastic produced globally in a year weighs approximately the same as:

   1. The entire weight of humanity

   2. The world’s oceans

   3. The world’s animals

   4. All vehicles on the roads

3. 

   The London Waste and Recycling Board’s newly released circular economy routemap for London encourages re-use over recycling in the built environment. Which of these London buildings contains surplus steel tubes from the oil and gas industry?

   1. The Olympic stadium

   2. The Angel building in Islington

   3. The Shard

   4. The O2

4. 

   Ceredigion county council in Wales has the highest recycling rate in the UK, at 68%. By contrast, the council with the lowest is:

   1. Council of the Isles of Scilly

   2. Brighton and Hove city council

   3. Newham council

   4. Lewisham council

5. 

   Between 2012 and 2017, the amount of clothing being put in household waste in the UK decreased by how much?

   1. 12%

   2. 32%

   3. 55%

   4. 14%

6. 

   New research suggests couples spend about £3,245 on food for their wedding. Of that, how much is wasted?

   1. £1,300

   2. £250

   3. £488

   4. £998

7. 

   In England, what percentage of households have access to a food waste collection service?

   1. 15%

   2. 85%

   3. 55%

   4. 44%

8. 

   Marks & Spencer is cutting the amount of packaging in some of its products by reducing the air pocket. What is the name of the project?

   1. Project Air Be Gone

   2. Project Thin Air

   3. Project Aerate

   4. Project Shrink Me

9. 

   In 2007, just 2% of waste carpet was recycled, what amount was recycled in 2016?

   1. 10%

   2. 12%

   3. 52%

   4. 35%

10. 

    Which material collected at the kerbside is worth the most per tonne?

    1. Clear glass

    2. Coloured plastic bottles

    3. Green glass

    4. Aluminium cans

Solutions

1:B - Although this figure is quite low, a new report, Switched on to Value, found that 83% of consumers are interested in giving used electricals back to retailers through take-back and trade-in schemes., 2:A - This is about 300m tonnes., 3:A - Cleveland Steel and Tubes supplied tubes which now form part of the Olympic stadium roof. They would otherwise have been recycled, which is much more energy intensive. , 4:C - Newham has a 14.7% recycling rate, Lewisham an 18% rate, Brighton and Hove 24.6% and the Isles of Scilly 20.9%., 5:D - According to Wrap’s 2017 Valuing our Clothes report, back in 2012, 350,000 tonnes of clothing was put in household residual waste. That figure now stands at 300,000 tonnes. , 6:C - If you’re planning a wedding, consider offering non-edible favours and think about scaling back the late night buffet. 37% of guests said they don’t eat their edible favours and 19% said they don’t go for a second round of food. , 7:D - In Wales, 99% of households are provided with a separate collection for food waste. In Scotland, a food waste collection is mandatory in non-rural areas. If your local authority doesn’t offer a collection, consider home composting., 8:B - Over 140 product packages have been reduced in size, including the popcorn range which has shrunk 37%., 9:D - A surge in demand, for use in energy generation and equestrian surface materials, for example, meant that 142,000 tonnes of carpet that was reused, recycled or recovered for energy last year. , 10:D

Scores