Like many of us, Ruth and Lawrence Green thought they were doing their bit for the environment by recycling all their beer and wine bottles, beer cans and newspapers. However, they were still putting out four or five bin bags a week and only half filling their black recycling box.

The Greens took up the 'recycling challenge' - to recycle 50% of their waste. This might be testing for most of us, but with a new baby, it was more than many of us would be prepared to take on.

Nappies, of course, were an immediate issue. Initially the Greens decided to use washable nappies, getting a laundry service to take away the offending articles and return them clean washed ones. However, as they ventured out more with baby Tom, they decided that carting around a 'smelly nappy', albeit in a bag, wasn't really for them. Remaining environmentally aware, they opted for biodegradable nappies, which take far less time to degrade than 'normal' disposable ones.

Ruth says she became "obsessed with filling the black recycling box and generating less and less bin rubbish". They recycled everything they possibly could, including kitchen and loo inner rolls, cereal boxes, take-away foil cartons, pizza and fish finger boxes, and all tins and aluminium cans.

Their son, three year old Harry kept a keen eye on the rubbish bin during the challenge, once retrieving a large can from the waste paper basket and asking Mummy "why isn't this on the side of the kitchen for the 'cyclin' men to collect?" Proof, Ruth feels, that if children are educated young enough about recycling, hopefully it will become a natural habit.

During the challenge the BBC gave them a wormery to assist their recycling efforts. This proved of great interest to Lawrence and Harry, who enjoyed listening to the worms munching away each evening! They also bought themselves a composting bin, and generated enough healthy waste to keep both the wormery and composter busy.

By becoming avid recyclers, the Greens' four to five bags' worth of weekly rubbish was reduced to a single supermarket bagful. Plastic bottles became a problem. Ruth was drinking gallons of sugarfree squash while she was breast-feeding. The local recycling service did not take plastic, so the bottles could not go into the black recycle bin. A neighbour came to the rescue, taking them to a bottle bank she frequently drove past; the plastic bottle problem was solved!

So how has the challenge changed the Greens recycling habits? Well, Tom is now five months old and they're still using biodegradable nappies. Ruth notes he’s never had nappy rash like Harry had when they used conventional nappies.

The worms in the wormery, alas, died due to the exotic diet which Ruth fed them. "I forgot the only rule there is for wormeries," she said, "is not to give them anything citrus". Eating lemons and oranges killed the worms. But undeterred, she adds "we do intend to get some more". Without a hint of any sadness, Ruth says that Lawrence and Harry have banned her from having anything to do with them.

The compost bin is still in action, though it's been relocated. After the back garden was covered in decking there wasn't anywhere suitable to put it, so it's been moved to Lawrence's Mum's allotment. Now both households use it.

The Greens were absolutely delighted to win the challenge and reduce their rubbish by a staggering 93%, well beyond the target they were set of 50%. "Bring on those worms and we may increase our recycling again," says Ruth. Now there's a challenge!