Carbon dioxide and methane are some of the gases that are produced when rubbish starts to rot in a landfill site.  These gases are both greenhouse gases - adding to man-made climate change.  the best way of reducing this problem is to reduce the amount of waste that we produce - and recycling whatever we can.

By shopping around and thinking hard about what we buy it is possible to reduce the amount of waste that we're each responsible for. For example, why not use a re-usable shopping bag instead of relying on a steady stream of free carrier bags. Also, do you really need to put your leeks or apples in a plastic bag to go through the checkout?

If all the aluminium drinks cans sold in the UK were recycled, there would be 14 million fewer full dustbins per year. Recycling can also save energy. Amazingly, recycling a drinks can requires only 5% of the energy it takes to make new aluminium – just one recycled aluminium can saves enough energy to run a television set for three hours!

We're fortunate here in Medway that most of our household waste can be recycled. Information about what can be recycled at the doorstep, and where other recyclable wastes can be taken, is available here.

A recycling plan for Medway is included in Medway Council's Waste Strategy, which identifies how the council intends to achieve greater sustainability in waste management in Medway.