There is no doubting Europe’s global leadership in environmental and waste legislation. Perhaps it is because Europe is an old continent, where people have for centuries been huddled in cities, concentrating the waste disposal problems.

In the US, federal law-making on waste disposal stalled a decade ago: today, it is individual states led by the most populous, such as California and New Jersey, that are tailoring new waste regulations. For most Americans, the US is a big country, with plenty of space to get rid of their rubbish.