Rubbish is arguably Britain's most pressing environmental concern. Challenging and controversial, this is a rigorous examination of the problems of waste in the UK and the efficacy of the public and private initiatives designed to forestall a crisis fast ballooning into catastrophe This is the story of our rubbish - from the first human bowel movement to the littering of outer space. With a hankerchief to his nose, Girling picks through our fridge moutain, our crumbling sewers, trading waste, packaging waste, hazardous (=terrifying) industrial waste, spam emails and other new forms of waste, the horrifying residues of incineration.. and he attempts to find a blueprint for our survival, the way our lives may HAVE to change. Each year the English and the Welsh throw out 100m tonnes of waste - more than half of it goes into the ground. The volume of our domestic trash is rising by 3 per cent a year. At some point and at some point very soon it has to stop. Or one way or another the trash will overpower us.

About the Author

Richard Girling is a senior feature writer for the Sunday Times Magazine. In 2002 he was named Specialist Writer of the Year in the UK Press Awards. His most recent previous book is 'The View from the Top' an illustrated guide to the structure and history of the British landscape. He has been consultant to the former Dept of the Environment and the Dept of Culture, Media and Sport and author of campaigns for the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). He is currently a trustee of the Tree Council. Richard Girling lives and works in North Norfolk.