Shopper concerns about waste have lead Sainsbury's to reduce the amount of packaging on its own-brand Easter eggs, according to the BBC.

After reducing wrappings by a third last year, the supermarket has trimmed it by another 10% this Easter and made the packaging recyclable.

View BBC news video

In 2003 the UK produced 330 million tonnes of waste.

The amount grows by 1.5% every year. New EU laws are putting pressure on councils to reduce the volume of waste destined for landfill.

In order to meet these new requirements, can we increase the amount we recycle within the UK or must we increase our overseas exports of recyclables?

The Royal Geographical Society with IBG recently organised a conference where representatives of business and government met with geographers – all under the eyes of the national media - to debate these controversial issues.

The themes covered by the conference (11 April 2006) were highly relevant to the teaching of geography in schools, notably:

• KS3 Unit 14: Can the earth cope?
• A-level Sustainable Development (all boards)
• AS-level Urban Futures (Edexcel Spec B)

Teachers can read the actual conference presentation PowerPoint files

Teachers may find all sorts of materials here to support teaching, including photographs and charts. Prof. Read’s photographs of waste management in LEDCs will be particularly useful. Extra mileage may be gained by drawing students’ attention to the amusingly-named ‘WEEE’ - the Waste Electric and Electronic Directive.

In the Member Area: · Why do we send our rubbish abroad? · When is rubbish a resource? · Are we living sustainably? · KS3 and AS/A2-level relevance View Case Study now

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