As the population of Britain continues to grow, the amount of waste that we produce each year increases, and the problem of waste management becomes increasingly difficult to tackle. Every year we produce approximately 120 million tonnes of industrial, commercial and household waste in Great Britain alone. Unless something is done, this total will steadily rise. So how can we help? Is this a problem that we as individuals can address, or is it something that should be left entirely to government?

The three keywords are reduce, reuse and recycle, but what are the best strategies to achieve these goals? How can we take steps to try to reduce household waste? Is recycling always good, or does the fact that it is an energy consuming process mean that it is not always worthwhile? Would it be more effective just not to buy products with packaging in the first place? Or is packaging sometimes the sensible option?

Explore these issues further in our articles on reducing household waste and choosing how you shop.