A nifty chart by Point Carbon shows how energy allowances would be distributed under the Waxman-Markey bill as it is – or at least, how it was a couple of days ago. Local power distribution companies (pink) get the bulk of the proceeds, followed by low income households (yellow) and trade-exposed and energy-intensive industries (grey).

The Government’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has been coming to the defence of recycling recently, addressing three key myths that have been circulating in the press.

Myth 1: Collecting and transporting recycling is bad for the environment as it causes CO2 emissions.

According to Dr Liz Goodwin, WRAP’s chief executive, this greatly overstates the emissions associated with transportation. “The impact of collecting and transporting is a tiny fraction of CO2 emissions, equivalent to 0.04 tonnes per tonne of recycled material.”

Dr Goodwin adds: “Current levels of recycling in the UK save 18 million tonnes of CO2 per year. This is equivalent to flying the population of Northern Ireland to Australia and back twice.”