Britain needs a network of waste incinerators on a national basis, this could produce lower cost electricity for the grid and reduce our dependance on fossil fuels. The government need to stop pandering to the Eco-fascist lobby.

Gordon Pye, Clitheroe, England

The big problem is recycling is a waste of time, effort and money. It does more harm than good to the environment and this was entirely predictable.

The EU forced us to do it, when landfill was perfectly O.K. Put a nature reserve on top, or shopping centre or whatever.

Matt Davies, Woking, UK

This is not good. This will be used as an excuse for recycling sceptics to continue throwing all waste in the general waste bin. It needs to be sorted somehow and quickly!

P Ahern, Bolton,

The usual boom and bust economics of the planet put environmental issues on the back burner once again

Timo, Ryde, Isle of Wight

Why are we not pressuring manufacturers/suppliers to reduce the problem at source? Surely by now, we can expect 100% biodegradable packaging and re-usable bottles (remember lemonade bottles anyone?) We need punitive legislation to force manufacturers to reduce the recycle burden.

caroinkerry, Kerry, Ireland

We're having similar problems in the US. A big part of the problem is that the lockup in the credit markets has made it difficult for Chinese buyers to get the "letters of credit" that facilitate exports. Without a letter of credit, a seller in the US has no assurance of getting paid.

Mark, Sunnyvale, California, United States

Hmm, I thought that the recyclng "laws" were implemented
to save the planet- not to make a faest buck!!!!

David, Dunstable, UK

Just you wait, in a few weeks or months, 'We don't have enough money to move all this waste, so we're going to have to charge you more for doing it.' A thinly veiled situation, engineered to screw yet more money out of us.

Paul Downes, Milton Keynes, UK

Recycling isn't just done to make money, we need to reduce the crazy level of waste we're generating to avoid massive problems in the long term. The prices of such things are always fluxuating anyway, they're low now but might well be back to record levels in a couple of years.

Mark Johnson, Birmingham, UK

The new British commodity.... Rubbish!
I am so proud.

lauren, London, uk

Yet one more Brown/New Labour policy is in ruins, The recycling of steel cans in also going to stop because Corus UK have announced that the collapse in demand for steel means it doesn't need them and is offering £0(nil) per tonne. So what's the point in anyone collecting them?

A.M. Williams, Stafford,

Seems to me that we have the solution to coastal erosion here! Coffer dams, dump it all behind, bit of soil on top and there you go. To be environmentally friendly call it reclamation.
Its either that or the whole country becomes more of a tip site than it presently is!
BG

Bill Glanvill, Horsham, England

Perhaps they'll start fining us for recycling now.

Veronica, Manchester,

Recycling should not be price based. It is an essential process to reduce the rate and then eventually stop resource depletion. Government legislation is required to ensure that all materials available for recycling are recylced. Recycling is not an economic exercise, it is a survival system.

Jim Wills, Brisbane, Australia

If there was a sensible waste policy that didn't price out landfill because of EU policies, we would not have this problem. We are not running out of landfill, sites that that were claimed to have only a couple of years left ten years ago still have years left. Energy from waste should also be there

DennisA, Swansea, UK

Cart before the horse comes to mind. We never foresaw this! UK recycling plants will not pay top dollar when they know they will be able to hold the rates low.

John, Fareham,

Would now be a good time to pause and consider the whole life environmental impact of "recycling" rather than just scoring brownie points for local authorities?
Does the Local Government Association have figures for the environmental impact of their actions?

Brian Holt, Daventry,

Storage of such materials, even in large quantities, until there is sufficient demand to recycle them again is still far preferable to burying them in the ground permanently.

James E. Petts, Burnham, England