Recycling is a waste of time (again)

I took part in a debate on BBC Radio Five on Thursday evening on the question of whether recycling is a waste of time. It was prompted by news that the prices of recyclable materials have collapsed because the main customer for them - China - doesn't want them at a time when other commodity prices have also fallen. The suggestion is that the recyclable waste be stored in the UK till prices rise again.

(For a summary of my views on recycling, see this post.)

The striking thing is that so many of the callers (but by no means all) thought that recycling was a waste of time. It's clear that the reason UK local authorities are having to get out the big stick to force people to do it. Obviously, we're not convinced that it really matters. That's despite the fact that we're constantly told that recycling will 'save the planet' and how we've got to get kids to do it, too. See this clip from the US about making recycling fun for the whole family (yuk):