It pays to be green

Berlin recycles 40 per cent of its rubbish and London manages 11 per cent even though both produce the same amount of waste per capita.

By 2020, the German capital expects to stop using incinerators and landfill sites.

The city charges households £40 a quarter to dispose of rubbish. As the amount recycled rises and the number of rubbish bags falls, so does the cost. Households have bins for plastic, glass, paper, tins and compost, and the city composts autumn leaves. Used furniture and electrical goods up to seven years old are put on sale.

Philipp Prein, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth Germany, said: "It was very controversial when these measures were brought in but now everybody takes them for granted."

Many Germans take pride in sorting garbage, he said. "There's a stereotype about Germans that they're fanatical about it."

But Germans aren't as good at it as they think. A recent study found 40 per cent of recyclables were put in the wrong bins.

"The collectors have to do a lot of re-sorting," Mr Prein said.

Companies in Germany pay a tax to the government for each piece of packaging they use - a measure that encourages them to use less.