logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
27m 54s

Recycling

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

In this special edition of Inside Science, Vic Gill prepares to rummage through our rubbish, to peek behind the curtain of the UK's recycling habits and see how well prepared we are as a nation to further our efforts of sustainable waste management.

Presenter: Vic Gill Producer: Emily Bird

Up next
Oct 29
The race to protect a third of the world
It's the time of year when nations come together to try and agree on a plan to futureproof the planet. But in the lead up to the Conference of the Parties 31, another meeting takes place – a smaller gathering, but one some would argue is just as important. COP17, the 17th meeting ... Show More
26m 29s
Oct 22
Is there time on Mars?
The first ever spacecraft to bring Martian samples back to Earth has launched from Japan. However, before the spacecraft returns from Phobos in 2031 there are many complex challenges that lie ahead, leaving an anxious 5 year wait for the scientists involved. To help us understand ... Show More
26m 28s
Oct 15
The climate changing power of 400 billion toasters
Back in May, we checked in on the developments in the eastern Pacific’s ocean currents, that we call El Niño. We said that stirrings in the surface suggested there might just be quite a big one. Now, it seems, everyone is talking about it, and it’s definitely big. What is the El ... Show More
26m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2019
Is Recycling All Our Waste at Home Possible?
Waste, trash, garbage – whatever you call it, unwanted materials have become a major presence in many of our lives and our environment. Every year it is estimated that humans around the world produce 2 billion metric tonnes of waste. Listener Clare from Devon in the UK wants to s ... Show More
30m 38s
Jul 2020
Rummage - Waste
Rummage & waste: Laurie Taylor talks to Emily Cockayne, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of East Anglia, about the overlooked story of our throwaway past, from ladies of the First World War who turned dog hair into yarn to Girl Guides inspired to collect ... Show More
27m 44s
Apr 2022
What to Do About Trash?
Trash is one of the biggest problems on the planet. But scientists are coming up with solutions that might surprise you. In this Earth Day episode, we meet two researchers who are tackling trash in two very different ways. Kevin Solomon hopes to solve the challenge of recycling p ... Show More
21m 29s
Nov 2022
Picking up healthcare with the litter
Would you pick up litter if your life depended on it? Around the world, companies and governments are trying to incentivise people to pick up litter and recycle their waste. In Nigeria, we visit the tech start-up which encourages people to pick rubbish up off the street – and the ... Show More
23m 50s
Jul 2009
Exploring issues
Professor Andrew Porteous gives his views on waste management in today’s society. 
13m 33s
May 2012
Space Junk in the Trunk
<p>How much junk can we accumulate in Earth's orbit before we seal off our world? Before we cut the planet off from the cosmos and doom civilization to a new dark age? In this episode, Robert and Julie look skyward to space exploration's garbage.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ... Show More
24m 48s
May 2016
No Ordinary Garbage
Trash. Garbage. Refuse. Waste. Call it whatever you like, this is the stuff we deal with everyday that we no longer want in our lives. It’s not that it has no value; it actually has negative value. That’s why we’re getting rid of it! And apart from remembering when to drag out th ... Show More
28m 30s
Sep 2021
How to conquer Garbage Mountain
After getting a firsthand look at the history of trash, we’re having visions from garbage’s present and future this week. Producer Kunsang Dorjee visits a landfill to see what happens to our trash after we throw it away, and producer Ruby Guthrie shows us how we can make less tra ... Show More
37m 51s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami