Recycling household waste 'tests the brain as much as Sudoku'

13 April 2012

Putting out the rubbish used to be a straightforward task.

But since the advent of endless council edicts and different coloured bins and boxes, it has become ever more complicated.

So much so that recycling now puts as much strain on the brain as the game of Sudoku, research has revealed.

Challenging: British people find sorting out their household waste as difficult as playing Sudoku, according to a study (file picture)

Challenging: British people find sorting out their household waste as difficult as playing Sudoku, according to a study (file picture)

In the first study of its kind, volunteers rated the sorting of household waste as challenging as solving a complicated puzzle.

Even dedicated recyclers struggled with the task, which involved working out which of 50 pieces of rubbish were suitable for recycling and placing them in the appropriate box.

Despite being reminded of the rules, only two of those taking part removed tops from drinks bottles where necessary, and just one remembered the address windows from business envelopes should be torn out before recycling.

Overall, the process taxed the brain as much as Sudoku, the study at the Sussex University-based Mind Lab found.

Recycling Suduko puzzle - solution at the bottom of this page

Recycling Suduko puzzle - solution at the bottom of this page

Recycling also takes up valuable time, with the researchers estimating that the average family spends the equivalent of a week a year sorting, preparing, rinsing and putting out their waste.

If these hours were spent at work instead, they would net each family an extra £500 a year, according to Nouvelle, the recycled toilet tissue makers which commissioned the research.

Dr David Lewis watched what happened when six dedicated recyclers or 'eco-worriers' and six recycling-shy 'refuse-niks' were given a mound of rubbish to sort through.

He said: 'We discovered that recycling is actually an incredibly complicated and stressful activity, which requires a huge amount of concentration.

'The whole process is so confusing that even hardened and dedicated recyclers still get it wrong.

'In the tests even eco-worriers were confused with what can and can't be recycled, with plastics being top of the list of badly-labelled and confusing materials.

'Although refuse-niks had to concentrate twice as hard as eco-worriers when sorting the waste, the level of mistakes in the two groups was similar  -  an 85 per cent success rate for the refuse-niks versus 91 per cent for eco-worriers, showing that recycling is difficult for everyone, whatever your level of dedication.'

Christine Clarke, marketing director of Nouvelle, said: 'It's great that we're all doing our best to do our bit to recycle, despite our research showing there are still many unnecessary barriers that people face.'

Solution to Daily Mail Soduko recycling puzzle

Solution to Daily Mail Soduko recycling puzzle

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