This was the title of an Economist special report on waste which was published about 6 weeks ago and which I've been meaning to write about ever since. If you want your students to have access to up-to-date info about recycling and the circular economy, then this is a good place to start. There is a lot, inevitably, on plastics and some of the data presented would be useful for those millions of students across the world now caught up in plastic project mania.
Meanwhile I see that the Prince of Wales has said that children should follow his sons’ example by picking up litter on a new Clean-up Britain Day. He's seen what the Swedes do, it seems. Charles, William and Harry used to clean up Norfolk in the school holidays: a truly sisyphean task.
But instead, how about a National Day of Not Dropping Litter? Maybe when he becomes King he'll have a word with those nice folk at Untidy Britain. Of course, this felt need to have to clean up the country has a long history as we are truly a dirty people. Here's one of H.H. Peach's Litter Rhymes (from 1929) about Tiny Mary:
"And as they went to school each day // It made the children titter // To see her stop upon the road // To pick up someone's litter."
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