Investigators had found large stockpiles of combustible recyclable waste stored incorrectly.

There are about 200 stockpiles of recyclable waste in Victoria alone.

Third-level students had been invited to compete by turning recyclable waste into other products.

They started collecting rubbish, selling plastic to "brokers" who bought recyclable waste.

And, as Nita Blake-Persen reports, that means previously recyclable waste is now headed straight to landfill.

Know your recycling day so you don't become tempted to dump recyclable waste with other rubbish.

It is a response to the scale of recyclable waste that is often dirty, poorly sorted or contaminated.

They also accept recyclable waste.

Instead, individuals can earn points for putting out more recyclable waste -points worth up to £130 in local shops.

As the days tick by, stockpiles of recyclable waste continue to grow as the industry holds out for a viable solution.

Hull council, meanwhile, saw 14.2% of its recyclable waste rejected.

About 20 people, most of whom make a living by collecting recyclable waste, have lived here for more than two years.

The competition is part of a one-day Sustainable Innovation Forum designed to encourage the creation of new products out of recyclable waste.

When China announced in January 2018 that it would stop taking Australia's recyclable waste it was a wakeup call for the industry.

It rewards people to produce more recyclable waste, rather than take steps to reduce the amount they produce in the first place.

More recently, it committed a further $2.5m to developing new markets for Victoria's recyclable waste.