Yesterday I visited a landfill site. It is one of around 300 landfills left in England and Wales. It probably isn’t most people’s idea of a nice day out. But you’ll get to see a lot of birds in majestic flight, and the smell of rotting rubbish being flattened and buried isn’t as bad as you might think. The best thing though is your jaw will drop. Because to see all this waste up close and personal is truly a sight to behold.

These 300 landfills won’t be around forever, which is a good thing. As they get full up, they will get restored and turned into nature reserves or golf courses. And they won’t be opening any more new ones, at least not in England and Wales. Instead the waste we produce, if not reused or recycled, will be treated and transformed into energy, to power our national infrastructure – our homes, schools, and businesses.

So visit one of these dumping grounds while you still can. Nowhere else will you find a place that will make you think so much about what you consume and what you throw away.