We need to tackle this excessive waste of natural resources so that we can live sustainably - within the natural limits of the planet.

Excessive waste needs to be tackled on many fronts:

- Encouraging reduction and re-use, so fewer raw materials and products are needed in the first place

- Recycling more to reduce the amount of waste being landfilled or incinerated. 

Sending waste to landfill or incineration causes many environmental problems. Landfill uses up land, generates odours and traffic and the biodegradable waste in landfill generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Incinerators emit significant quantities of greenhouse gases. Although some plants produce electricity, generally more energy could be saved by recycling the waste.

Recycling helps by removing materials from the waste stream so diverting it away from landfill and incineration. It works on the simple basis that the environmental positives of recycling outweigh the environmental negatives of landfill and incineration. For instance, the amount of energy needed to turn waste into a new product is often less than the equivalent energy required to produce that product from scratch using raw materials.

Over 60% of the rubbish in our dustbins could easily be recycled. However, the latest figures for Birmingham taken for the period 2005-06 showed that only 17% was either recycled or composted putting Birmingham City Council 363rd out of 393 in the English recycling league.