War on waste

From its nadir ten years ago, when it only recycled 11.2 per cent of its waste, the UK's situation has gradually improved, driven by greater environmental awareness and ever tightening regulations to this year's zenith when 41.2 per cent of household waste was recycled. Recycling is not a new development, in fact many would argue that it is returning to mankind's early days when everything was repaired or reused. It was because the greater affluence of the previous century, driven by the consumer and marketing revolution that has turned the global market into a disposable society, that waste has increased.