Each British household generates over one tonne of waste per year, reveals a report of uk's department of environment. Worse, only 11 per cent of this is recycled. According to the document, the amount of municipal waste generated in the uk is up 2.7 per cent from last year, with 28 million tonnes being collected. Recycling, composting and incineration are now carried out on only 21 per cent of the waste generated.

Despite the uk government's recently setting up a us $218 million recycling fund to help authorities meet their targets of 25 per cent recycled waste by 2005/2006, some local councils may miss the deadline. Another such measure is Europe's directive that pegs landfilled waste at 35 per cent of the 1995 total by 2016. There is also the uk government's Waste and Resources Action Programme (wrap), which aims to double the amount of plastic bottles being recycled