Waste not, want not

11.10.28: BRITAIN IS at last winning the war against waste following the introduction of tough new 'producer liability' penalties.

Although consumption of resources is little lower than it was at the end of the last century - one tonne of consumer products per person per year - the good news is that the national resource deficit is now almost on target.

In the late 1990s the deficit was vast: on average it took 10 tonnes of raw materials to produce one tonne of goods.

Ten years ago the deficit ratio was 5:1 - a fact which provoked widespread protest and shook the government into drastic action. Now, said the minister for resources, Mandy Katherine-Cox, it is down to 2.5:1.

"The key factor to this succe