During the Second World War, resources were scarce and Governments ran massive recycling campaigns to ensure nothing was wasted. Waste was segregated for the following uses:

- Metal and tine were recycled for use weapons, tanks and aircraft.

- Left over food provided feed for chickens, pigs and goats and people would bring their scraps to communal bins.

- Rubber was collected to make tires.

People were also encouraged to repair belongings, such as clothes, as opposed to just buying new ones. Campaigns like 'Make Do And Mend' and 'Sew And Save' gave advice on how to recycle textiles and patch up their worn out clothes. As a result, knitting soared in popularity around this time.

On war time rations, families had to plan meals carefully so as to minimize wastage. Perishable food had to be bought in small quantities and meals were made with some interesting substitutes. Meat fat was saved to make pastry, and even the cream from milk was stored in a jar and shaken to make butter.

It is sad that it took people such a long time to acknowledge the importance of recycling, and also that it took such miserable circumstances to bring it to our attention. Nowadays, we realize the importance of recycling to preserve the Earth's resources, save money, reduce pollution and help combat climate change.

Even so, we are still failing to recycle a lot of items that are recyclable. Though we know what we should be doing, and though it is not difficult for us to do it, there is still a very much laid back attitude to recycling. Too many people simply cannot be bothered to recycle, and that is undoing the good work being done by those who do take the little time and effort required to recycle.

If they could recycle, then why can't we recycle too? We should all be doing what we can now, and not be waiting around for a major crisis to kick-start us into action again.