The people of Kingston have done something remarkable.

Without much in the way of expertise, they have set up a village recycling scheme and collected 24 tonnes of rubbish in its first four months.

Lewes District Council estimates about 20 per cent of what was getting thrown away is now being diverted from landfill.

Everybody involved deserves a pat on the back for showing there is an alternative to burying waste in the ground or burning it in yet-to-be-built incinerators.

The Kingston scheme gives weight to the growing number of people who argue we should be looking at a policy of zero waste.

While it might seem revolutionary today, it will, probably sooner than most of us realise, one day be common place. Ultimately we have little choice but to go down that route.

It is an idea whose time has come and if the Kingston project proves one thing, it is how painless the journey may actually be.