Resurrecting rubbish

Plastic bottles can be recycled into supermarket bags Office paper into toilet paper Wine bottles into industrial abrasives Plastic bottles into gardening equipment Aluminium cans into drinks cans Baked beans tins into fridge parts

It is estimated that England and Wales produce 400 million tonnes of waste each year - enough to fill the Albert Hall every hour. Of this, despite a series of government and EU targets, the proportion that is recycled has remained stubbornly around 10%.

To comply with EU directives, ministers want that to increase to 25% by 2005, rising to at least 33% by 2015.

Although some waste is burnt in incinerators to provide electricity, most of it - about 80% - ends up in landfill sites which are dotted around the country.

Cardboard collection, Philippines-style

There is also a realisation in the recycling industry that sorting is only the first step - and that waste isn't actually recycled until another use has been found for it. In most cases, this will mean that a buyer must be found. If there are no buyers, then perhaps the most important impetus for the process is lost.

A new scheme, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) has been set up to encourage the development of markets for recycled goods from industry and commerce.

To do this, Wrap is aiming to bolster market confidence in recycling, and crucially to find ways to improve the economics of recycling.

Compost

But household waste is a huge nut to crack. One aspect is the organic matter thrown away which can be composted and then sold on to the horticulture industry.

Bottle banks sort waste

A briefing paper produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs earlier this year said that the government considered local authorities had a key role to play in encouraging households to compost their waste food.

Many councils offer subsidised compost bins for householders to put in their gardens. An increasing number are also setting up centralised composting schemes, using waste that has been separated from door-to-door collections or from council tips.

Separate bins

Some experts say the best way to make recycling more efficient is to give houses separate bins and require householders to sort their own waste. Some councils already operate such schemes, but campaigners would like to see it repeated across the country.

Recycling rates

UK: 11% Switzerland, Germany and Austria: 50% Glass UK: 25% Switzerland: 93% Steel UK: 30% Germany: 80% Aluminium UK: 38% Switzerland: 89%

Another more radical idea which some people back would involve charging houses for the amount of waste they produce, rather than levying a flat fee as part of the council tax.

This, it is thought, would encourage households to re-use as much as possible, and reduce the amount they put in the bins. It is also feared, however, that it could lead to an increase in fly-tipping - dumping waste by the side of the road.