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A Load of Rubbish

An investigation into what's really happening to the recycling we send overseas.

Households in Britain are recycling more than ever, with millions of us dutifully sorting through our rubbish every week in an effort to help save the planet. But when the blue, green and brown bins are taken away, what really happens to our waste?

File on 4 goes digging through Britain鈥檚 multi-million pound recycling industry - and discovers it鈥檚 a dirty business.

The UK sends more than half its recyclable packaging overseas, selling our sorted plastics and paper to countries which need the raw material and will recycle it. But when File on 4 tracks where shipments are being sent - we discover they can have a devastating effect on the developing communities where they end up.

Reporter: Jane Deith
Producer: Mick Tucker
Development Producer: Oliver Newlan
Researcher: Deniz Kose
Editor: Gail Champion

Available now

37 minutes

Last on

Sun 2 Jun 2019 17:00

Broadcasts

  • Tue 28 May 2019 20:00
  • Sun 2 Jun 2019 17:00

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