Data investigation: where does Liverpool’s waste end up?

And – as we reveal today – why is only a quarter of it recycled?

Dear readers — here’s an alarming statistic for you: only a quarter of Liverpool’s waste gets recycled. To our shame, we do a pretty shoddy job when it comes to making sure our rubbish gets reused. But why is that? 

Daniel Timms is a man whose personal relationship to this great city of ours is closely intertwined with the topic of waste. Having visited as a child, he became enthralled with the holy grail of bins (the purple bin), and went away to tell all of his childhood friends about its magic. Today though, he returns with a more forensic eye, taking you on a bin odyssey deep into the world of Liverpool’s waste. Did you know, for example, that last year 60 tonnes of our aluminium cans were sent to Neuss, a small town just outside of Dusseldorf? No, no you did not. 

The overall takeaway though, should be cause for alarm. The purple bin might be the swaggering, peacocking alpha of the bin world, but in a city where 75% of waste ends up burned or in landfill, we need to be doing much, …