h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've nothing against recycling - I think it's a great idea. But in my area it's bonkers. We have blue bins for recyclable stuff but there are so many rules about what you can put in and what you can't, which seem to vary depending on which local council area you live in.

Some of the daft rules we have in my area are:
-you can put in magazines that have staples, but not those that are glued.
-you can put in newspapers but not envelopes, office paper or fliers.
-other items like clothing and glass that can be recycled, you have to gather up yourself and take to the recyclinbg points at Tesco or wherever.
-items like tetra packs and pringles tubs (which I'm certain *are* recyclable) will land you with an unemptied blue bin and a lovely embarrassing "contaminated" sticker across the bin.

I've also heard from several people that our blue bin waste juist goes to landfill anyway and it was introduced to "get us used to it". Though I can't say how much truth there is in that.