Research and analysis

A study of the composition of collected household waste in the UK: packaging waste

The objective of this study was to produce national estimates of the main constituents of collection round (dustbin) waste, with particular emphasis on the packaging content.

Documents

A Study of the Composition of Collected Household Waste in the United Kingdom - with particular reference to packaging waste

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Details

Waste from selected street blocks of 50 households from 20 different local authorities across the United Kingdom was sampled for compositional analysis in conjunction with a postal questionnaire designed to elicit information on household characteristics and behaviour. The main objective was to produce national estimates of the main constituents of collection round (dustbin) waste, with particular emphasis on the packaging content. The research design was based on the need to understand sources of variation in packaging and non-packaging wastes in terms of household characteristics generated by the questionnaire survey.

Published 1 January 2000