A council has become the first in Sussex to pledge its support to 100 per cent recycling.

Newhaven mayor Dennis Forsdike has, with MP Norman Baker, signed the Zero Waste Charter on behalf of Newhaven Town Council.

The charter is a national initiative to turn rubbish into a resource and alleviate the pressure on land fill sites.

Mr Baker said: "Elected members at all levels know the public strength of feeling about waste.

"This country's record on recycling is the poorest in the western world but support for change is not lacking at grass-roots level.

"The Government needs to provide the lead and I challenge the Department of the Environment Fisheries and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to provide both carrots and sticks to those involved in waste production and its management."

At the current rate of recycling, landfill waste sites in Sussex will be full in four years.

Robin Murray, leading industrial economist and campaigner for zero waste, urged other councils to change their views on rubbish.

In a recent report he said: "Instead of accepting what our waste is and looking for ways to get rid of it, we should be asking why waste is produced and what it could become.

"As a source of pollution, rubbish needs to be controlled and hidden away. But treated as a resource, it becomes a valuable material.

"This report outlines the practical measures needed to make the idea of a zero waste Britain into a commercial reality."