The UK’s climate change minister, Joan Ruddock, has said that environmentally friendly products will become the norm on shop shelves, whilst products with a big environmental impact will be forced to change.

According to Ms. Ruddock, the government and industry have been working together to green up the life cycle of all products and services, including food, electronics, and clothing.

The announcement was timed to coincide with the publication of the Sustainable Products and Materials report, and the Waste Strategy.

The Sustainable Products and Materials report details the action that is already underway to make products more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Every stage of production is considered, from the extraction of raw materials, to production methods, to consumer usage and disposal.

Key recent achievements highlighted in the report include inefficient light bulbs being withdrawn from sale by 2011, all milk packaging to be made using at least 50% recycled materials by 2020, and a drive to bring down the stand-by energy use of all devices sold in Europe to just 1 watt.

The Waste Strategy outlines important positive developments in the UK’s waste sector over the last year.

According to the strategy, recycling rates are increasing, the amount of commercial and industrial waste being sent to landfill is decreasing, and the amount of biodegradable waste being sent to landfill is also decreasing.

However, despite these improvements, the illegal dumping of waste through fly tipping has increased significantly.