So far you've found out that although we often take it for granted, even the simplest packaging is very useful and very cleverly designed. However, the most important thing about packaging is what happens when we throw it away.

On the back of most packaging you'll see two symbols:

This symbol reminds you to always put your litter in the bin. It may often seem easier to just drop it on the floor, but if we all did that we'd soon be up to our necks in rubbish! No one likes living in dirty cities, towns of villages, so remember to always put your rubbish in a bin.

This is the recycle symbol, and is on all packaging that can be recycled. When we put our rubbish in the bin, it normally ends up being burnt, which pollutes the air, or being buried in large holes in the ground. This is called landfilling, and is extremely bad for the environment. It is also a waste of materials such as metal, glass, paper and plastic that could be recycled and used again.

You can help by saving any glass bottles or jars, plastic packaging, drinks cans and paper and taking them to a recycling bank. Recycling banks are a bit like bins, but anything that gets put in them is taken to special factories and recycled. Recycling saves energy and causes less pollution, making the Earth a cleaner and nicer place to live in.

Find out where your nearest recycling bank is and start using it!