The fraudulent business of recycling

I am a litter picker. No, not one of those high-minded volunteers who have proliferated of late with litter-picking sticks and black bags, but a professional: I am paid to empty the bins and collect the debris left by the public in a small park in Middle England. And I’m angry, not with the great British public who leave the stuff but with the real litter louts who are the root cause of the problem. As summer approaches and people who have been stuck indoors crowd into the beauty spots and on to the beaches, litter becomes a hot topic and it is important to be clear where the blame lies.

When I became a bin man, I thought I was contributing to a cleaner, healthier planet. I read the claims made by government, business and industry about the progress in reducing landfill and the exporting of waste, along with the advances made in recycling and reduced packaging.