The potential value of what passes through British dustbins in a year is £300-million. But instead of realising that value, saving imports and energy, we spend that much collecting it up in dustbins, trucks, trains, and barges so that it can be dumped irretrievably.

This film takes the lid off the rubbish bin and reveals that, because of rising costs in raw materials and energy, most refuse could be recycled at a profit. Metals, paper and even plastics are beginning to be recovered - with huge savings in energy. Recycling operations are to be found in Doncaster, Eastbourne, Leeds and Stoke-on-Trent. Where local authorities are co-operating, recycling has become a business proposition. Those who could turn our trash into cash no longer have an excuse for doing nothing.