As blue boxes start to appear in areas targeted for recycling, some people may wonder why go that route.

Each year Cumbria County Council disposes around 270,000 tonnes of waste.

Nationally, domestic waste is expected to increase at around 3 per cent every year, however early indications show in Cumbria the figure is rising at around 5 per cent.

If this trend continues by 2024/25 Cumbria could be producing around 1m tonnes of waste annually.

Each typical bin contains 33 percent paper, 24 per cent garden waste, 13 per cent plastic, 10 per cent glass and 3 percent textiles.

CCC currently recycles around 7 percent of waste, government targets stipulate the authority should recycle 14 per cent of waste by 2003/04.