a way to make a new greener fuel from plastics dug up from landfill. some say be left where it is. we have an exclusive. this could potentially power your carbon future. confused about what you carling can't recycle? don't worry. help is at hand. you can recycle black. and the man who has picked up ten tonnes of other peoples rubbish and is still going strong. on the surface the river looks absolutely fine apart from where you get bottles but 80% of the letters below the surface so you have got this, basically a conveyor belt of rubbish moving out of towns and cities into the wider river system and onto the sea.

this is inside out. this week's programme is all about plastics. first, an exclusive report on the latest attempts to do something useful with the plastic we throw away. scientists have discovered how to turn landfill plastic like this into new, cleaner fuels. but if we dig it up, could a site near you unearth new problems for future site near you unearth new problems forfuture generations. every site near you unearth new problems for future generations. every week, 1100 tonnes of household waste are buried in this landfill site. it is just one of 20,000 landfill sites in the uk and between them, they contain 400 million tonnes of plastic.

chris cornell has been shifting waste and will check the last three yea rs. waste and will check the last three years. from your experience, says kind of thing you see every time there is a lot of waste dump here? and what you're dealing with is mainly plastic? definitely, these days. the wooden metals have been taken out from the majority of the loads and that is basically what you get left with. is it quite shocking to see how much plastic is here? and this is, you know, a relatively small landfill site, isn't it? definitely. noticeably more plastic in the last few years. what do you do with it? where does it go? how can you recycle this sort of stuff? that is a question scientist doctor stewart by clint is attempting to answer. he's not a europe—wide push to promote enhanced landfill mining. it is the confident we can recover maximum value from landfill so we can reclaim the majority of

resources which are contained within the landfills. we can reclaim the land for development. and we can re cover land for development. and we can recover materials of interest up to rough elements, critical, raw materials, valuable metals but also plastic. he is leading a government backed project to recover landfill plastic and turn it into a new fuel. he and his team at university of bedfordshire so identified 850 landfill sites in england suitable to be mined. of these, 83 are in the east. and within each one, up to a fifth of the contents will be plastic. but the team think there could be up to 4000 more sites gci’oss could be up to 4000 more sites across the uk that might be worth sticking up. wow. so what have you got it? this is a sample we've taken from a landfill site. you can smell the landfill. that is pretty stinky.

this is quite a tame example. how old is this sample, then? five yea rs how old is this sample, then? five years old. some of this is really degrading quite considerably. that has barely changed at all, has it? the stuff you are after is this plastic that we just cannot recycle. so, things like this dense plastic. this, realistically, even if it was not landfilled or cleaned it would not landfilled or cleaned it would not be recyclable anyway. film plastic is rarely recycled in the uk saw this plastic material as a potential resource. we're looking at these plastics in particular to understand how they have behaved in landfill sites and we're looking at the construction of them, how they've changed. are they the same as the plastic that went in? then we're looking at the technology that we're looking at the technology that we can apply to recover the best possible value these. stewart a nd possible value these. stewart and the team are using a technology called pyrolysis. it is already being used to turn non—landfill plastic into gas and oil, by sitting at temperatures

exceeding 600 celsius. until relatives had not been possible to do this for the dirty plastic from landfill but stewart's team found a way. can we see the oil? we can. so, this sample here, this is waste that has had metal and glass taken away everything else has been used in a pyrolysis plant. it is very similar inconsistency to crude but we believe we can upgrade this to produce chemicals and liquid fuels. it could potentially power your carbon future. how environmentally friendly as the process of turning this into oil and gas? because the process, i believe, creates carbon dioxide? it does but it does not produce carbon dioxide in the same way as we were to burn this material and also, it saves carbon and replaces transport fuels and raw materials we would divide from crude oil. so it has that lower carbon impact.

but digging up old landfill sites is controversial. at the moment, researchers are not revealing the location of the 83 sites at the east as this may stir up opposition. as i discover on the banks of the thames. it isa discover on the banks of the thames. it is a beautiful day here on the beach but all is not what it seems. the thames s3 has the london's dumping ground for more than 100 yea rs dumping ground for more than 100 years and when you first get onto this peachy until breathing, wow. look at all these pebbles glinting in the sun. they are not all pebbles. he von clinker beach, fragments of glass, china and hazardous materials such as asbestos from a nearby old and unsecured landfill, are washed up with each new tide. and plastic from the old site is also on display. julian kirby is the plastics pollution campaigner for friends of the earth.

this is unbelievable, isn't it? but it was leaching out of the bank. that is right. it is miserable. we have grabbed a plastic pollution crisis. the public concern at the blue planet is too all the rest of it, to see this plastic rubbing out, washing out from eroding out of going straight into the thames here is absolutely shocking. surely it makes sense to take this out, mind what is here and put it to some kind of good use? there will be a lot that is in that landfill that would be good to get out and put to good use. precious metals that in computers and laptops and watches, and all the rest of. but getting plastic outcry turning it back into oil and they're burning it, essentially that is what is happening, that is going to be very, very bad for climate change. gillian would prefer that it is left ina gillian would prefer that it is left in a modern, secure landfill where it cannot escape. it it is a secure landfill then leave it there. whilst it is there is not going to be

polluting the atmosphere and driving timea polluting the atmosphere and driving time a change. clearly this is not a secure landfill. if many people are saying they can turn this resource from plastic and mantle to fuel than that surely has to be a good thing? it isa surely has to be a good thing? it is a slightly less terrible type of fossil fuel. burning it is a slightly less terrible type of fossilfuel. burning plastic, whether it is fancy technology like pyrolysis or an incinerator, is incredibly polluting and that is why we need to massively be producing about reducing how much plastic weaves together and not locking ourselves into a whole new economy of plastic. but take a trip upriver to the city of london and there is a different view. investors are looking to see if digging up all the waste found in landfill will turn a profit and they argue, the 400 tonnes of plastic held in the uk's landfill sites is too valuable to be left buried. legal practice later matt watkins is an international law firm and

partner paul davies is an environmental lawyer. how was the best way to make it viable economically? you need to bring together what i would call the three revenue streams. and that is looking at the value of the land, taking out the materials which can be recovered and recycled, like flat earth minerals which can be very valuable indeed. and then the third revenue stream, taking out other materials which can be burnt and used as fuel. do you think we would be crazy not still is this? absolutely. i think we would be crazy. we're already seeing examples of enhanced landfill mining about to happen and there is a site in belgium which we believe is entering the very final stages of getting approvals. and that will set an important precedent for others to follow. and the idea that we have landfill is up and stand the country containing all of these materials,

and we leave them down, ijust find bewildering. if it becomes cheaper for companies to dig up sites rather than managing them for decades, the prospect of mining for plastic will be attractive and it is predicted we could be using fuel from landfill plastic within ten years. as many of us try hard to change our habits when it comes to recycling, to correctly, developers know which plastics can and can't go in the recycling bin? survey has been to meet some people in peterborough as they gets to grips with their waists. —— sophie. i keep my shelf here full of things iam not i keep my shelf here full of things i am not sure about the last minute, with the men. foil, not sure. moisturising tubs, not sure. really

not sure about this. i wasn't sure about the bubble wrap, whether that can go in the recycling of landfill then. like many of us, the residents here are confused when it comes to recycling. last year, only half the plastic that could've been recycled in the uk actually was. it seems like many don't know what to do. but help is at hand for the residents of this road. they are going to get a recycling masterclass. and the person to do it is here. conveniently, in the centre of peterborough. her name is and hitch and she works for rico, a national plastics recycling charity based in the city. recoup ideally are here to try and make sure the maximum amount of plastics are recycled. so that means working with the brand owners to make sure that it's their packaging

is simple to recycle, right through to educating consumers, which we're doing today. so often that they are confused. freak apart just completed confused. freak apartjust completed their latest survey of recycling. the good news is we're putting more plastic out for collection. last year, over 500 tonnes were collected from uk households. that is almost a 3% increase on 2016. but, the average household uses nearly 500 plastic bottles a year. only recycles about 300 of them. meaning 200 bottles are not collected for recycling. time for and to meet our residents to see if she can help them sort their bubble wrap from their food trays. service biscuit box, on the back and

said that the box can be recycled, thatis said that the box can be recycled, that is quite obvious. but then this black plastic tray, it says check local recycling. asi local recycling. as i don't know how i would do that 01’ as i don't know how i would do that or what the answer is. in peterborough, you can recycle black. and your bubble wrap is a no. that is for landfill. we would take that out. most coloured bottles and trays can go in. you know, actually, they're not too bad as a street in terms of recycling. they've done a lot of things right but they still got a lot of things confused, some items are confusing. net, bubble wrap, i never know what to do with bubble wrap. on top of that, changes depending on where you live so each local authority as their own recycling rules. wish you then have to check for yourself. this is not as simple as i was hoping it would be. and sarah still has questions

about her moisturiser bottle, which seems to have left both her and and stumped. this is an odd one because we would normally say that if it is a pomp led that the pump let you would separate away from the bottle and you would recycle the bottle and not upon plate. however, i cannot see any indication on bottle, all the links, i would any indication on bottle, all the links, iwould recommend any indication on bottle, all the links, i would recommend we take this to a plastics recycling facility and we see how and if this can be detected. great idea. thank you, and. we're going to take sarah to a state—of—the—art recycling centre to find out what to do with the problem bottle. good morning. good morning. are good morning. are you good morning. are you ready good morning. are you ready for good morning. are you ready for our big day? the only thing is, it is a lot further away than we had expected. do you have any idea where we are

off to? no. i thought it might bejust ten minutes or so away but i'm seeing from your saturn averages about one hour 56. from your saturn averages about one hour56. —— from your saturn averages about one hour 56. —— saturn have. it is two hours away, in rochester in kent where a lot of the plastic from the east of england and up. this is because there is only a handful of the special plastics recovery facilities in the country. and rochester is the closest to us. finally, sarah and i arrive at the recycling plant where we are greeted by ed, the site manager. hi,| by ed, the site manager. hi, i meant. nice to meet you, i am sarah. shall we go in and have a look at the facility? absolutely. excellent. so, as you can see we have got a real mix of colours, polymer types, completely mixed up and ourjob is then to take

each of those bales, separate it, run it through the plant and separate out all the different polymer types that we can then send it on for recycling and create the kind of circular economy. it is so loud inside this plant but what you can see here are 121 conveyor belts which are stored in the plastics into types. the plant can then generate up to 350 bales of plastic per day and if you think one baylor loa n plastic per day and if you think one baylor loan can contain over 17,000 bottles that is a lot of plastic. we effectively take any plastics that you put into your recycling. then the plant works on those plastics and separates the mountain to your pet, which is your water bottles, each dp which is your milk bottles, each dp which is your milk bottles, polypropylene, pots, top scorer trays, those kinds of things. the machines are able to detect the

different types of or polymers, separate them, and squashes them down into bales. and so here at rochester what we look to do is absolutely recycle everything that comes in here. what does come in here, is not all recycla ble does come in here, is not all recyclable materials we end up at a figure of about 80% is actually recycled because it is recyclable. what is the worst thing that you have ever found in a conveyor belt? we get a lot of different items. coming into the side. probably the most unpleasant are nappies, is what we would ask residences to think about what you are looking to recycle up with the right things into the right bin. 0h, into the right bin. oh, nota into the right bin. oh, not a nice thought when you think some of the sorting involves sifting by hand. let me show you what the end product is, as you were asking us outside. so, here we have got some of the material and then we sell this on to

turnit material and then we sell this on to turn it back into water bottles. and these are effectively from the milk bottles you saw outside and then there's going to be turned back into milk bottles and they replace virgin materials and creates... but there is still one more question. can it be the one to tell sarah where she should put her moisturiser bottle? can this be recycled? let me have a look. ideally, from your point of view you would be able to take the plastic top of if it is different. but, again, think the message needs to be, if you put this material into the right bin, the right stuff in the right bin, the right stuff in the right bin, comes to me that it has the best chance of being recycled. rather than putting it into your rubbish bin. not even it is entirely sure if the bottle can be recycled. but other recycling plastic can be confusing, the message is clear. if in doubt put your plastic into the recycling bin rather than in your rubbish bin. we all want to

make sure we keep the countryside looking like this, pristine. but picking up other waste isn't everybody‘s idea of fun but this is not the case for some people. picking up litter for this not the case for some people. picking up litterfor this man is a bit of a passion. i've been fishing the river near my home in catering for years. my enjoyment has been spoiled by the increasing amount of plastic waste littering the waterways. on the surface the river looked absolutely fine apart from where you get floating glitter like bottles. often 80% of the letters below the surface so you have is basically a conveyor belt of rubbish moving out of towns and cities, into the wider river system and then out onto the sea. i don'tjust talk system and then out onto the sea. i don't just talk about the problem, i want to do something about the

waste i see around me. even while fishing, i'm busy collecting discarded rubbish. there we go, it is another one. another plastic bottle, exactly the same. some of them float, some of them go to the bottom. unwanted is on the bottom it will sort up and it will be forgotten, basically. all the time you got chemicals coming out of that plastic so, yeah, it isn't a very sweet output at source in the small rivers all over the country. not alone. people come down here because it is nice unpleasant what do they live? rubbish. there is not a day goes bust i don't pick rubbish up. packaging.

they brought it here so they should really ta ke they brought it here so they should really take it home with them. takeit really take it home with them. take it home, put it in the bin. that is part of the problem. they are not setting an example as well. are there out with the kids they discarded. the kids see them doing that and then the next generation will do that. i have been collecting waste for the past eight years and it is no exaggeration to say that it has become something of a passion for me. i think i have cleared ten tonnes of litter in that time, that is the weight of ten cars. i find rubbish literally everywhere. this carries water from the roads and into the river. you get a lot of litter that is

hidden in books like this. normally windblown and as you can see, it is actually embedded within the bank is in the foliage that has become trapped. it is pretty hard to recover it wanted to swept around but this is the kind of stuff that councils would just never gets too. what sort of damage can that do? there is the risk from leaching chemicals and toxins into the water. that can affect aquatic organisms and effective breeding cycles of fish and other aquatic animals. and also, there is a clogging risk that animals can choke on it and eventually, it will work its way to the sea and then it becomes an international problem in terms of... does not matter where you live, this will problem is worldwide. and it will problem is worldwide. and it will add to that. you can spend all day being angry about it but it is not going to clean the problems i think, if we all this together, and forget about coverage of the issue,

generally it is a fixable problem but it is just a question of time and effort of people actually putting some time and to solving the problem. i take the rubbish i collect and dispose of it responsibly. most of it gets recycled with the local council. my enthusiasm is robbed of an some of my friends and work colleagues who often come out and join me on my quest. lam quest. iamjust very quest. i am just very disappointed in the amount of mess that goes into the rivers. it is always rubbish that could be put into a bin properly. there is no reason for it. you have got pockets. becoming a bag with you to take your rubbish with you. when igoto to take your rubbish with you. when i go to beaches i am always picking rubbish up. and when i heard about this i was like, yes, come and do it. it doesn't go anywhere. not biodegradable. we've all seen the documentary is about what happens to the plastic indices. i was recently released surprised and flattered to learn that the prime minister theresa may had heard about litter picking in catering. she sent a letter,

praising my work, calling it a fantastic achievement. —— in catering. at first i did not want the publicity, been quite shy. but it will help the cause. it shows also it is a symptom that people are starting to talk about are generally the public. so it is a good thing. i don'tjust the public. so it is a good thing. i don't just clear the public. so it is a good thing. i don'tjust clear up rivers. this public foot path running alongside motorways covered in plastic waste. it makes me feel frustrated that people can't take ownership of the problem. most people don't like to litter, yet it is happening on a daily basis so clearly something is wrong. something is wrong with the system that we have got in doing litter picks like this i think would change that. people will start to notice that people are picking it up and they might get inspired and go out there and start their own group. i will continue to pick every week and basically, as long as i can. i

enjoy doing it and this makes a difference. if i can go to a place and leave it better than i found it, that gives me such a great feeling of fulfilment, and i know that i'm making a difference in my community. well, we certainly need less plastic and of course fewer litter box. if you missed any of the programme you can catch up when i observed that is it for this week. goodbye. that may catch up on iron player. good afternoon. for all of us it is

turning into a decidedly cool weekend but for some, a cool and bright weekend. a mixture of sunshine and showers, that is how it looked in the scottish highlands earlier on. further south and west that was devon, cloud and rain. misty and murky conditions. this is clearly a picture. you can see this massive amount of rain working as far north as wales in the midlands. the north of that it is not enough sunshine and showers. most eventful across the north—west of scotland and the slump of rain continues to work its way eastwards. quite breezy here as well. temperature wise, no great shakes. 12—14, maybe 16 plymouth. 90 and the channel islands, that is the one place we will have warm and humid air. during this evening, into tonight, we pushed that rain away further north under starry skies it is going to turn into a decidedly chilly night. the pale green, even blue colours on

the temperature chart. in glasgow, edinburgh, you're looking at close of two or three degrees. after the countryside a little bit lower than that. a touch of frost in some northern areas to start sunday morning. across northern parts of the country tomorrow we will feel the country tomorrow we will feel the effects of this lump of high—pressure whereas done to the south, there is a fresh com of rain to co nte nt south, there is a fresh com of rain to content with. during the morning that will slide across the south—west in to wales and there was like eastwards across other southern counties of england. it should move through quite quickly saw around lunchtime agreeing to be clearing away from the south—east. stars, a short, sharp burst of brisk which could gusts up to 50 mph were as elsewhere it will be breezy, yes, but we will see sunny spells, scattering of showers, as you can see. some of these will be on the heavier side, lifting its northern ireland and the north—west of scotla nd ireland and the north—west of scotland as well. further east across scotland not as many showers. some spells of sunshine. as mentioned, a breezy day and temperatures 11—15d at best. just a little bit warmer across the channel islands. as we look further ahead at

the start of next week, we end sunday said to me on a latte drying out. it is that that sets up for the week to come. high pressure that will be sitting out west starts to build its way across the country, so that means for monday, especially the further south you are, we're looking at largely dry weather and some spells of sunshine. further north as we go through the week ahead, we will see some cloud, rain times, breezy conditions as well. further south, though, it may well warm up, getting into the low 20s later in the week. mixed fortunes as we head through the next few days. this is bbc news. the headlines at 2.00 — the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, urges european leaders to "step back from the abyss," a day after theresa may demanded more respect from brussels in the brexit talks. jeremy corbyn has arrived in liverpool ahead of his party's annual conference. in a speech to labour's women's conference, he told delegates his

is the party of equality. our party, and our movement, will a lwa ys our party, and our movement, will always have the very highest standards so that everyone is safe and secure in our movement, and sexual harassment has no place whatsoever in our movement. the battle for sky. rupert murdoch's 21st century fox and media giant rival comcast‘s bidding war for the broadcaster draws to a close tonight. in other news, chas hodges, one half of the musical duo chas and dave,