And the award goes to...

The waste industry suffers from no shortage of awards and, especially this time of year, we seem to have plenty of opportunities to pause for a nice pat on the back. Is there really room for another award?

Well, there certainly is if it’s of the kind Friends of the Earth launched this April: the Talking Rubbish Award. Fed up with ministers propagating myths about waste and recycling, the environmental campaigning group encouraged the public to vote for the minister promoting the ‘biggest load of rubbish’: Eric Pickles, for insisting people live in constant fear of the ‘bin police’; Caroline Spelman, for saying that under the coalition, people won’t be taxed for their waste services (though they’ll still pay council tax); or Bob Neill, for implying fortnightly collections lead to smells, flytipping and vermin.

In the end, Pickles got his just deserts.

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