Recycling Show Me What You're Made Of

This is Show Me What You're Made Of UK.

I'm taking five teens the length and breadth of the country...

Oh, my...

..and putting them on production lines on factories and farms...

..so they can experience first-hand...

..what it takes to survive and thrive

in some of Britain's toughest industries.

They all come at once!

It's physically impossible.

I am soaked.

This is Show Me What You're Made Of.

Buck-buck-buck!

Buck, buck!

BUCK!

Our five putting themselves on the line are...

rules the roost Eloushka...

Everyone's world kind of revolves around me

and if I'm not happy with something,

it probably won't happen.

..lots of laughs Tom...

I like really trying to be funny.

It's got me into trouble.

Sometimes I say stuff that shouldn't be said.

.."me, me, me" Madz...

Everyone in my family has called me spoiled.

I like being spoiled.

I know that's a bit bad to say.

..screen queen Maddie...

If I keep begging for the thing that I really, really want,

I will get it in the end.

..and living the dream Lucas.

I like to be the centre of attention because, like,

everyone's looking at me,

and who wouldn't want to look at me?

Like, come on!

Our pampered five - Lucas, Madz, Eloushka, Maddie and Tom -

are about to get their very first taste of the working world.

I'm taking them to one of the country's

biggest recycling factories, in Bristol.

In the UK, we produce

around 200 million tonnes of waste every year.

That's three tonnes per person,

the same weight as an Asian elephant.

But recycling isn't all just rubbish.

It's also serious business.

It's estimated to be worth around £6 billion a year.

The question is have our five got the stomach

to cope with a job in waste?

Oh, no!

Is that poo?

I've always wanted to be a binman.

Well, what we chuck in our bins could end up here at Suez,

in one of their material recycling facilities, or Mrfs.

31 employees sift through 200 tonnes of rubbish every day,

and over the next two days,

our five will be joining the workforce here

to see if they're good enough to be offered a job.

I like to be the figure of authority,

not under a figure of authority.

So you'd like to be the boss, ideally?

I'd like to be.

Well, I will, cos I'm amazing at everything.

-You're too young.

-You're saying that Lucas is too young.

There's only a year between you.

Yeah!

I think his actual age is only a year behind us

-but, like, his maturity is quite a few years behind us.

-Ooh!

'Oh, fierce rivalry already!'

I'm going to be boss,

and then I'm going to fire you.

Yeah, that's how I roll.

'Their actual boss for the next two days...'

This way, gang.

'..is Suez Operations Manager Steve.

'He's the man they have to impress.'

-Hello.

-Good morning.

Tell me how you operate as a business.

We recycle material

that you throw away in your recycling bins every day.

You can find all sorts of things.

Food waste can be in there.

You could have things like dirty nappies going through the facility.

So it's important that they are taken out,

because they don't want to be in our end product.

Who's willing to be on nappy duty, then?

-Lucas?

-I don't want to touch that!

-STEVE:

-It's hard work.

People have to work quickly.

So it's important that you work efficiently,

because we're judged at the end of the week

to see how much material we've processed.

-Do you have to wear what you're wearing?

-Yes,

you have to wear the safety gear.

All right, gang, do you want to follow your boss?

-Yes.

-Nice and quick.

Work, work, work, work, work.

'Safety is key here,

'and that means getting kitted out from top to toe

'before setting foot on the factory floor.'

You're going to look the part.

So, how are we feeling about our uniforms?

Very trendy(!)

I don't like helmets.

-I don't like orange.

-You don't like orange?

-No.

Ooh!

-We're here to work...

-I'm the new Michael Jackson.

..not to walk on a catwalk.

'I think Lucas might have already forgotten

'he's here to do a serious job...'

Ooh!

'..and his attitude is catching.'

Our young workers are coming face-to-face

with the mucky world of recycling.

Oh, my...

I did not think there was going to be that much rubbish.

I can just smell it. I hate the smell.

It stinks badly, like bin juice.

I can't smell it!

Eloushka's all right,

but the smell is getting to the others, especially Lucas.

Everyone's seen these before, right? Milk cartons.

That's a valuable material, it's worth quite a lot of money.

Newspaper, card, magazines, all recyclable.

OK, Lucas, is everything OK?

It stinks badly.

Do you think you're overreacting slightly?

-Eh, yes.

-Is the smell unbearable?

-For me, it is.

There's nothing to it.

Guys, what we've got to remember, we've all produced this.

We are all responsible for this, all of us.

After the waste has been loaded onto the conveyor,

it is sorted by hand

to remove any items which shouldn't be there.

Then machines separate the recyclables

into different categories

like paper, plastics and metals.

Finally, it's sorted again by hand

to remove anything that can't be recycled

or is in the wrong place.

It's then squeezed into bales and sold,

ready to be turned into paper, plastics and metal products again.

So, in this bucket are examples of stuff that we don't recycle here,

what we call residue -

crisp packets, fabric, material.

That could be recycled, but it's contaminated with mayonnaise,

so we can't recycle that.

Now to the things we can recycle -

clear bottles, cans, cardboard, paper.

So, they are what we call our target materials.

Steve can't yet trust the group on the factory's moving front line,

so their first task is at the sampling table,

to test their focus and speed.

Here, the workers sort through sample amounts of waste

to gauge how much of the material coming into the factory

is recyclable.

All right, stand back.

Our five must sift through an 80-kilo tip of material,

with each of them responsible for collecting a different product.

They've got an hour and a quarter to get through as much as possible.

OK, guys, get going!

Tom's picking cardboard,

Maddie and Madz are on plastics,

Lucas mixed metals

and Eloushka paper.

Nice and quick, yeah?

Depending on how each of our five perform,

Steve will decide to promote or demote them.

No, don't throw it at people.

Look, nice and calm.

Sorry!

It doesn't take long for Lucas to lose focus.

Lucas pushed everything

so then it all came down here

and now we all have to look on the floor for it.

Ew.

-I'm looking for different types of paper and residue.

-Ah! Ah!

No!

Lucas has just spotted his worst nightmare...

Is that a nappy?

Yeah, that's a nappy.

I think you have to pick that up and put it in the residue bucket.

I know there's a bit of poo,

but just close your eyes and hope for the best.

On the other side of the table,

Maddie and Madz are having trouble filling their bins.

What's this? Read it. Read it.

-STEVE:

-'The two Maddies,'

I think they're getting a bit distracted by Lucas,

who's probably performing the poorest, if I'm honest.

He'll pick up a product and he seems more interested in examining it

and looking at it rather than processing it.

-I think Lucas finds it really tricky...

-Yeah.

..to engage in things that he doesn't find really interesting.

Yeah.

Label-loving Lucas is many things,

but modest isn't one of them.

The five things that sum me up about my personality are

shopaholic,

smart, funny,

competitive

and ridiculously handsome.

Mum Nina says he's no shrinking violet.

He likes to make people laugh

and he thinks it's OK

but sometimes it's not the appropriate time for it.

I like to be the centre of attention because, like,

everyone's looking at me

and who wouldn't want to look at me? So... Like, come on.

His mum knows that, with his love of the limelight,

knuckling down to work could be tricky.

Mmm!

If the job in the factory is boring,

I think that will affect Lucas's behaviour,

that he will be looking for attention, making jokes,

trying to escape his job.

And Lucas's mum is spot on.

Back at the Mrf, he's ground to a halt

and has his nose stuck in a football mag.

Work!

-Yeah?

-Work!

-Look!

-Lucas...

-Look...

If I was employing you, I wouldn't give you time to read.

The important thing is you focus on the task and clear it quickly.

Eloushka and Tom are managing to ignore Lucas

and stay focused on their jobs.

Tom, it looks like you've picked a lot of good cardboard off there.

-Good work.

-Yeah, I was wondering...

So, that's plastic, isn't it?

Just testing!

So you seem to have filled your bin up quite quickly,

and you've picked out some good non-target items.

You're doing well there.

-Tom, you seem to be working quite quickly.

-Yes.

And listen, you and Eloushka,

you seem to be the quickest right now.

It's cos we're Welsh.

-It's cos you're Welsh?

-That's why.

It's because they're both Welsh.

While Eloushka's sticking to her pledge to be the best,

Lucas seems to have abandoned his ideas of being boss...

Oh, with the catch!

..and Tom is now Eloushka's main competition.

OK, everybody, step back from the table now.

The task's finished.

'Steve's workers would have sifted through

'four times the amount of waste in the same time.'

Come on then, gang.

'After casting an expert eye over the group's work,

'it's time for Steve to decide

'who he wants to promote and who will be demoted.'

Just generally, how did they get on as a group?

Some of you were quite good, quite quick at it

and then there's the other extreme where people lost focus.

So, Steve, are any of them going to be promoted?

-I'm going to promote two of them today.

-OK.

-OK,

and the two I'm going to promote

is Eloushka and Tom.

OK, so, Eloushka and Tom, well done.

First promotions!

So, are you feeling quite proud?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, I tried my best,

put 100% effort in, and it's paid off.

Girls, demoted, how are we feeling about that?

I knew that that wasn't really my forte.

First factory, first task, first job...

..a demotion, I'm not really pleased with myself.

Kind of gutted.

Yeah, I am satisfied, proud, happy with myself.

With Steve questioning the demoted trio's efforts,

their working day is far from over.

I'm taking them to volunteer at a charity

which, like the recycling factory, gives new life to waste.

I think what became very obvious very quickly today

was, you know, where we may dismiss something,

"Oh, it's rubbish, it's just waste,"

actually we learnt it's still a valuable commodity,

just in a different way,

and I think that's the same with food.

'We're visiting Bristol FareShare,

'a charity which takes food destined for the bin and redistributes it.

'I hope Lucas will take this place seriously.'

-How are you?

-I'm good, how are you?

'Jacqui Reeves is in charge here.'

-Hi.

-This is Jacqui.

-Nice to meet you.

-What's your name?

-Maddie.

-Maddie.

-I'm Madz.

-Hi, Madz.

I'm Maddie.

-Oh...

-Lucas, Lucas!

The charity takes surplus food and drink directly from the suppliers

and gives it to other charities

who turn it into meals for those in need.

That's people who are homeless, young people, refugee projects.

All this food here that you can see would be thrown away.

It's completely edible, totally fresh,

it's not even past its sell-by date.

The only reason it could be here is possibly the packaging's

a bit damaged or the wrong barcode's on it, it's as simple as that.

Or it could even be because it looks less than perfect.

Something like this, might not be straight.

-It's all edible.

-Yeah!

All right, gang, off you go.

It's Maddie, Madz and Lucas's job to work with the other

volunteers gathering food for the orders before they're shipped out.

Take that one there.

Mixed biscuits and we're looking for one tray.

There are over 70 volunteers here working to deliver around

-a ton of food a day...

-Thank you.

..which makes 2,800 meals.

Could you imagine doing this for a job all day?

I don't know, I quite like it. Yeah.

Let's hope Maddie's enthusiasm is catching.

Back at the Mrf, our promoted pair have come to find out

how one man's waste is another man's gold.

Derek, could you tell me what we've got loaded so far, mate, please?

Mateusz started working here three years ago

when he arrived from Poland

and was promoted for the second time a month ago.

Nice to meet you.

-Hey, I'm Eloushka.

-Nice to meet you.

What's your job within the factory?

So, my job now is Mrf supervisor.

When you started, did you have to start off, like,

the small jobs, and did you see yourself becoming a supervisor?

If you would like to be a supervisor or to be boss,

you have to start from the lowest position because before you

get supervisor job you have to learn all of the positions below that.

I think it's a good idea that you have to do that

cos at least you know what everyone's doing,

you know all the job titles, you know all the rules.

This morning on the bus I thought being in charge was just

"everyone follows my rules, everyone listens to me,"

but listening to you,

I think it does show that obviously you've got to work your way up.

Only child Eloushka lives with her mum and grandparents.

If I'm not happy with something, it probably won't happen.

Or if I want something to happen, it probably will happen.

Yeah. Everyone's world kind of revolves around me.

And this Welsh lass certainly enjoys the finer things in life.

I have five horses and for holidays I normally go on a cruise.

I find cruises just a really nice way to relax.

And I love travelling, as well.

Mum Nia's hoping the journey she's about to embark on

will be a worthwhile one.

I'm not convinced Eloushka fully understands the value of money,

so I'm hoping that during this experience that she understands that

there is a bit of hard graft that goes into providing

everything for her, make her value what she's given

in the future a bit more.

Back at the Mrf, after their chat with Mateusz,

it's dawning on Eloushka that climbing the career ladder is tough.

I think we underestimated what it takes to become a boss.

At the food factory, Lucas, Maddie and Madz are hard at work.

I hope it's a sign of things to come.

Pork, raw sausages...

We need five.

I wouldn't think it would all be wasted.

Like, it's all really nice stuff.

Yeah. Yeah, imagine if we all did this and then you get a nice pizza.

-Yeah.

-Not bad, is it?

-No!

SHE LAUGHS

I like how when it comes down to here people work in the community

and they work together to help other people.

-And I'd love when I am older to volunteer here.

-Oh, would you?

-Yeah.

It's a small place but it feeds a lot of people

good food that's edible and nothing's wrong with it.

It has definitely changed

my attitude of chucking away leftovers as well.

It's the morning of day two. We're now in a situation where

our two promoted kids are going up in the world

whilst the demoted three are going right down to the tip floor.

Steve's giving Lucas, Maddie and Madz another chance to

prove themselves in the factory.

These bales are ready to go out to our customers now,

so we have to inspect them to make sure they're of the right quality.

This is a paper bale, OK?

So if we see anything like plastics, that can be pulled out.

-Ah.

-Yeah, good. Good.

Magic. You see? I knew there was stuff left in there.

-What we don't want to do is break the bale up either.

-Yeah.

So we want to keep the bale intact.

Lucas.

Don't do that. Don't kick it.

You want to mess with me, come, we go!

-Got it!

-Lucas, what did I say to you?

-UNCLEAR REPLY

-Yeah.

You could injure yourself, OK?

While Lucas is ignoring Steve's instructions,

the girls are ignoring Lucas and getting on with their task.

Don't try and dig too deep in the bale, just look at the surface.

-OK.

-That's good.

Shall we have a look at the front of this and then see how you've done?

I think that looks fairly good. Well done.

Ooh. Ooh! Doo-doo-doo-doo. Ooh!

-Lucas, can I ask you to get up off the floor, please?

-OK.

-With Lucas continuing to muck around...

-Hi-yar! Hi-yar!

..Steve's patience has finally run out.

OK, I want you to stop now. OK, stand back.

OK? I've told you several times not to be punching the bales and you,

I saw you doing a bit of a ninja pose there and doing that again.

I'm going to have to take you off this job.

-OK?

-I wasn't hitting it, I was grabbing it out.

But you're putting yourself in danger and I've had to speak to you

several times now and I can't allow that.

-Do you understand?

-Oh, Lucas!

Across the floor, promoted duo Eloushka and Tom

are being trusted with the toughest job in the factory.

They're working on this super-speedy picking line,

where waste and recyclables are sorted for a final time

before they're packed into the bales.

This is so fast.

Steve's come up to get them started.

Eloushka is looking for paper and aluminium cans and Tom is

going to be looking to take HDPE bottles off there and then any

residue can come onto this conveyor.

The residue materials left on Eloushka's bale will end up

being burnt to generate power.

Does that go over there?

Working shoulder to shoulder with the professionals,

the pair only have seconds to decide what to keep and what to let pass.

Oh!

Everything they salvage is worth valuable money to the company.

Eloushka wants to be the best, but it's tough.

It's exhausting!

It's really tiring, my hands hurt.

And Tom's hot on her heels to be the top worker.

Tom, how many bins have you done?

-More than you!

-HE LAUGHS

On hand to offer support is Mateusz.

His first job in the factory was on this very picking line.

-I'm going to hand you over to Mateusz now...

-Right.

-..who'll help you on the line, OK?

-Fabulous, thank you, Steve.

It goes really quick.

They all come at once.

I started my journey from this line.

You're an inspiration, Mateusz.

-Am I?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Oh, really?

-100%!

Last night, Mateusz told the pair that hard work pays off.

Well done.

Cheers, mate.

And they're proving to him that they listened.

You work really good, you work really hard.

Eloushka, you pick off the line a lot of ally, a lot of paper,

so that was well done.

We're the dream team.

My man, this.

Top man!

Back on the factory floor,

Lucas has been given the easiest job there is.

Num-num-num-num-num-num-num.

Oh, dear.

Already I can see that Lucas does not look very happy.

Hello.

-Hi.

-How's it going, Steve?

The girls are working well there.

And I can see Lucas is doing a slightly different job.

Yes, unfortunately, Lucas wouldn't listen to safety instructions

and so we've had to take him off the job and give him a different task,

so he's now sweeping up.

-Lucas.

-Yes?

-How's it going?

I don't know if I should say I got demoted twice

or I should just say I got de-de-demoted.

-Right.

-I think I was doing a good job.

Like, getting it all out.

But then he doesn't like it the way I'm taking it out, so, yeah.

If he's asking you to do something, it's probably for your own good.

And with one final push, time's up for the demoted three.

If you'd like to follow me this way.

OK? Keep close, please.

After a mixed morning, the five are reunited for one final job.

The one person who's got the most to prove here is Lucas.

OK, guys, so this is it, your last chance to impress Steve

before you're judged in the boardroom.

So this is the final quality check before it becomes baled. OK?

So what we need to pick off on this point is anything that's not

cardboard or paper.

We have a film chute here. OK, it's like a vacuum cleaner.

What you have to do is pick the film up and throw it up the chute.

This task is all about speed.

The group will be judged on how many items they pick in a minute.

OK, guys, get ready.

Why did you just say "get ready"?

I don't like the sound of that.

Oh, my...

14 tonnes of material passes along the conveyor belt every hour.

Look at that, Lucas, not good!

Oh, my gosh, look how fast it's coming through now!

Yeah, I know.

-This is going mad.

-Quickly, guys.

Quickly.

Ah!

This is Show Me What You're Made of, so let's grab this, come on.

Oh, my gosh.

Despite the mountain of material coming their way,

Eloushka and Tom are keeping up the good work...

I'm so hot my glasses are getting steamed up.

It's like a whole new world in here!

..with Maddie and Madz picking up speed...

Maddie, Maddie, Maddie, Maddie!

I didn't realise how much sweat you'd work up by doing this.

It's ridiculous!

..and it looks like Lucas has at last decided to pull his socks up.

Look at Lucas, he's like a different person.

-He's very decisive.

-Yeah, no way, great. Well done, Lucas!

The whole team is finally pulling together.

How's it looking, Steve?

Looking really good, I've not seen any plastic on there so far at all,

which is unusual cos you normally get a percentage come through.

So, dare I say, they seem to be doing extremely well.

Really pleased.

Guys, you are doing a fantastic job. Really, really well done.

I'm so, so thrilled.

Come on, guys, we're doing great.

So, right now Steve's taking note

in terms of how many pieces per minute the kids are able to take.

I've got to say, genuinely, I feel like Lucas is the strongest here.

-Lucas!

-Yeah?

The man of the moment.

Talk to me, what's the story? A complete transformation.

I'm enjoying it, basically.

So it's as simple as just because you are enjoying it more

you're willing to give it a good go?

Kind of. And it's more active.

How's your relationship with Steve?

-Er. Better now.

-Yeah.

Cos you were on rocky ground, right?

Yeah.

OK, guys, one by one we're going to take you off the line

and replace you. That'll be the end of the task.

-Bye.

-Bye.

It's time for the boardroom, where our five will get the lowdown

on their first taste of the working world.

-Hello.

-Hello.

We'll start with the final task. How do you think they did?

I thought the final task was great.

Everybody was focused, picking quickly, so, really well done.

-So, Steve, you've been watching our five very closely...

-Yeah.

..over the past few days. If we start with Tom.

Tom's done really well. He's been steady throughout, so well done.

-Thank you.

-Really, really, really pleased.

I've tried my best in all the tasks that we've done.

OK. Eloushka.

Similar comments to Tom. She's been consistent throughout the process.

You actually had the highest pick rate in the final task

at 30 pieces per minute, so you were basically picking

something every two seconds.

Hard work paid off.

Steve, can we speak about Madz, please? How's Madz done?

Really well in the last task.

Because you were under pressure, then you lifted your game.

How's Maddie done?

In the first task, you were quite easily distracted.

-Mmm.

-Let's talk about Lucas,

because I feel like he has had a bit of a rollercoaster.

Yeah.

In the earlier tasks, there was a definite lack of concentration

and a lack of following instruction.

But what was really pleasing for me in the final task,

he concentrated throughout,

he targeted the material well and he had the second-highest pick rate.

How can you behave in such different ways in the same place?

Well...I have a twin.

-THEY LAUGH

-And, like, he came over

and helped me and, yeah, I asked him to, so, yeah.

I like that twin.

I'd like to see more of that twin.

So, Steve, moving forward, if our children were over the age

of 18, are there any here that you would be willing to offer a job?

Two of them.

And those two are?

That would be Tom and Eloushka.

Tom and Eloushka.

Round of applause for these two, please.

-Are you three disappointed?

-I knew it was coming.

-Same, yeah.

I'm a bit disappointed, obviously, but we can always work on things.

Now Steve has to choose who is star employee.

It's a really close call for me, but overall

I would say Eloushka.

So, Eloushka, well done.

What do you make of that?

I'm very happy.

-Next time on Show Me What You're Made Of...

-Tomatoes!

..they get into a pickle at a sandwich factory.

It's physically impossible.

Can they get the better of a burrito?

-Oh, no.

-And who will cause chaos in the cleaning room?

I am soaking wet. I've got tuna down my shoes!