“As a source of pollution, rubbish needs to be controlled and hidden away. But treated as a resource it becomes a valuable material.” Robin Murray

Rubbish, waste, refuse - whatever you want to call it - this ‘out of sight out of mind’ mentality doesn’t appear to be working… It’s not sexy, glamorous or alluring, but every human being on this planet has a relationship with it every day. It’s one of the largest cover-ups mankind has ever attempted, and we can almost fool ourselves that it isn’t there. But there’s just too much of it!

The UK produces 280 million tonnes of waste every year. Britain uses 15 million plastic bottles a day and an average family spends £680 a year on food which ends up in the bin.

So where does it all go? When we throw things ‘away’, what does ‘away’ mean? It’s all too easy to forget that when that black bag that’s smelt out your kitchen all week gets whisked away by the refuse collectors that its life doesn’t end there.

What ‘away’ really means is mile upon mile of landfill sites, incinerators and ocean waste. We are running out of space for our rubbish, and strategies used to make it ‘disappear’ are damaging to the environment and contribute to climate change. It must be time for a change of tactic…

Yes, the statistics are shocking; the waste produced is massive, but what if this ‘mass’ was something we valued? Our rubbish could become somebody else’s treasure. Robin Murray has said, ‘“As a source of pollution, rubbish needs to be controlled and hidden away. But treated as a resource it becomes a valuable material.” UK recycling is estimated to save more than 18 million tonnes of C02 a year already– the equivalent to taking 5 million cars off the road. Now imagine if every single person recycled every product they bought.

Producing something from scratch is a much longer and more environmentally damaging process than creating something from recycled materials. So before throwing anything ‘away’, think: Is there still a use for it? Would someone else treasure it? The majority of the time, the answer is likely to be yes.

And how about preventing waste from being there in the first place? As consumers we are powerful – every purchase we make is like a vote sent out to producers all over the world. Before buying anything we need to ask ourselves do we need it? Will it last? How was it made? Where will it end up once I’ve finished with it? The best way to solve a problem is by stamping out the cause, and as people who shop, eat and consume, this is in our power.