It has become the latest – and perhaps most unlikely – sector to nourish the green shoots of economic recovery: the price of recyclable rubbish has doubled since November, outperforming traditional commodities.

Prices for plastic and paper have surged from a dramatic crash last year. Languishing at £19 per tonne of material in November 2008, cardboard has trebled to a price of £59 per tonne in May 2009, above the 2004-08 average price of £53 per tonne. PET plastic, used in drinks bottles, has risen almost as strongly, more than doubling from £75 per tonne in November to £195 per tonne in May, well above the long-term average of £156 per tonne.