That is not to say that there cannot be a turnaround. The city of Hamburg in Germany has had a very ambitious waste management programme with the amount of garbage being recycled increasing 12-fold over the last nine years. At the same time the amount of waste produced has declined even though the city's population has increased. In the future, there may be more regulation and incentives to encourage less wasteful behaviour. There could also be more innovative solutions. As the quest for alternative energy sources continues, entrepreneurs are looking for economically viable ways to turn waste into fuel.