Rubbish levels set to beat highs of boom

A race against time is under way to prevent a waste management crisis, with rubbish volumes set to increase after six years of decline.

Experts say the amount of rubbish from homes, shops, and offices will grow next year for the first time since 2007. Within a decade it will exceed the record levels of the boom years.

But the country is running out of landfill space, investment in alternatives is lacking, crucial regional waste management plans were last updated in 2002, and private waste operators are opposed to greater demands on the industry.