Last year it was shown that 7/10 people do not know which items should go in the recycling bin and 9/10 had never made efforts to find out.

But a new study by mental health charity Mind has found that recycling comes not only with benefits for the planet, but for personal health as well.

In particular, it was found that the ritual of sorting recycling had almost the same psychological benefits as two minutes meditation or mindfulness.

In the past few years studies have proliferated linking these benefits with longer life by mitigating the impact of stress on our bodies.

While sorting plastics from cardboard may not sound like the most interesting of tasks, the study claims that it is precisely this boredom that allows our mind to reach a more relaxed state.

The charity says that in the next few years recycling could even be offered as a new form of therapy for those suffering from small to mild anxiety symptoms.

While personal sorting may be enough for most, the report goes as far as to claim that weekly volunteering at a local recycling centre could extend life by as much 6-8 years.

— NFN's Oliver Frost contributed to this report.