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Things that make you want to cry....

245

Comments

  • katieowl_2
    katieowl_2 Posts: 1,864 Forumite
    lswwong wrote:
    I have offered stuff on freecycle before and had some really strange people replying (who also messed about with collection times etc) which now puts me off freecycling.

    .)


    Please don't give up on Freecycle! I know a lot of people report negative experiences but I have to say I have had some really good experiences with this which have gone a long way to restore my faith in human nature :) and I know other people have too. On the whole I have offered rather than recieved, so perhaps that makes a difference. At the end of the day it does keep stuff out of landfill even if you have to re-offer or get somebody messing about with collections (tell them you will leave it in the porch or whatever - I have never 'waited in' for a freecycler, but I am around most of the time) Lets face it the council take about three weeks (well here anyway) to collect a large item if you request it, and you have to pay to get rid of it!

    Before freeccyle I left stuff on the walls with a 'help yourself' note, and still do occassionally. I have noticed that a lot more people up and down the road do now. My very nice big flowerpot came from a neighbour who had gone modern, and put the pot out with a note - hers matched the one I had already!!!

    Regards

    Kate
  • katieowl_2
    katieowl_2 Posts: 1,864 Forumite
    What makes me want to cry?

    Seeing tiny plastic punnets of blackberries on sale in Sainsbury out of season that have been flown in from Mexico :eek:

    I am seriously considering 'fly posting' stickers on the boxes that say "This product is costing the earth!" When I stood behind somebody in the queue actually BUYING them DH practically had to hold me down :mad:

    I can see me being banned from Savacentre LOL!

    Regards

    Kate
  • SusanCarter
    SusanCarter Posts: 781 Forumite
    500 Posts
    But I use the carrier bags as Binbags...Agree with all the rest by the way!
    Me too. It's in our rental contract that anything we put in the wheelie bin must be in a plastic bag.
    Sybarite wrote:
    In reality the list of irritations is endless though, putting normal rubbish in the communal recycle bin, willfully not recycling, parked cars with their engine running, excess packaging, goods that are uneconomic to repair although only 2 yrs old, fitted halogen downlighters, underfloor heating, economy 7 electricity, car alarms ......I think you've opened Pandora's Box
    What are fitted halogen downlighters? :confused:

    What annoys me? People who say they want to be environmentally friendly but make excuses because they're too lazy. Excessive packaging on everything. Having to subsidise farmers because cheap foreign imports undercut them. (Why not just put a tariff on imports?) My council taking 6 months to give me a green (recycling) box and then refusing to empty it. :mad: (A long story.)
  • Sybarite
    Sybarite Posts: 401 Forumite
    I empathise with the council recycle boxes - I eventually managed to get this sorted for my apartment block by nagging them until we had the large communal recycle bins - individual boxes were a joke, collection would stop about a week after each of my complaint calls - this went on for 6 months i logged 24 calls to my council.

    Halogen downlighters are those reflective little halogen bulbs that developers now like to fit into new build properties - initially they were used for highlighting display items in shops. I have 36 in total in my apartment (about 6 in each room) they are rated at 50w each and operate at 200 degrees C so essentially it's like a low level ceiling heating - energy efficient replacements are approximately £10 each - I will actively avoid them in future. Negatives, heat, cost, high energy consumption, glare, bulb failure rate (finger grease on the bulb shortens the life btw) Pain in the bottom.

    I have two additional categories - packaging becoming less environmentally friendly - persil used to sell paper carton refills for their washing liquids - they now only sell the plastic bottles and claim (after my enquiry) these are a more environmentally sensitive solution?

    Supermarket lies about packaging - it's what 'we' want. I don't want prepacked vegetables that make the produce sweat. Anybody going to Sainsbury's premium 'Bluebird' metromarket on the Fulham Road in London is treated to fresh produce in wicker baskets in a deli style arrangement. It's the same produce as normal stores - paper bags are usually available too.
    I do hope you're telling the truth?
  • that stupid cheap flights advert that says "and we don't cost the earth!" OH yes you are I yell at the TV each time I hear it.
    However I have to tell myself that although I would love other people to behave in a more responsible way it is not my right to force them to.
    People don't like being lectured to and we are not likely to make many converts that way. All I can hope for is that the example that I set for my friends and family will have some impact on them. They may then spread the message further.
    True wealth lies in contentment - not cash. Dollydaydream 2006
  • Altarf
    Altarf Posts: 2,916 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    sundin13 wrote:
    What sort of things really rattle your cages....

    The sort of sanctimonious messages being posted here. Trying to force or embarrass people into doing something will fail, and rightfully so. If someone commented on me using plastic bags or buying fruit flown in from the other side of the world they would end up wishing they hadn't done so.

    What cheered me up this week was the case of Donna Challice, now that was one in the eye for the sanctimonious brigade - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2264066,00.html

    For example my local council has changed from a weekly collection of household waste to a bi-weekly collection. Alternate weeks it now collects garden waste (recyclables is yet another collection, again bi-weekly). So in the summer we have a stinking bin, and in the winter the garden waste lorry speeds around the collection route, as who has any garden waste in December? And yet with all these collections they still don't collect glass bottles, so if you want to recycle these you must drive to the bottle bank.

    Since every house has three wheely bins, they are now threatening to prosecute householders for leaving them on the streets. Duh, they were the ones who forced the developers to cram in as many houses onto a site as possible, did they not think where somebody in a rabbit hutch terraced house was going to store three wheely bins?

    And they wonder why they don't have public support for this.

    I have been seriously tempted to buy a 4x4 due to the number of speed bumps that the council has installed in this area. They cannot be driven over at a sensible (and legal) speed in a normal car, yet vans, lorries and 4x4s can wizz over them at any speed they like. Duh, which is it more dangerous to have speeding.
  • Sybarite
    Sybarite Posts: 401 Forumite
    What cheered me up this week was the case of Donna Challice, now that was one in the eye for the sanctimonious brigade - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2264066,00.html



    That's an interesting perspective you have there - do you polish it regularly and proudly show it off down the pub? The global issue of road humps really vexes me too as does bi-weekly wheelie bin collection - to the point of insomnia. I can't think of a more vaild or striking reason for buying a 4x4 - unless you like standing in petrol station forecourts more frequently than you currently do & paying for more fuel per mile.

    If your not keen on your council, which seems to be the underlying theme of your post, but are on the willfully ignorant (as demonstrated by the shining example of the Challice case) then you should perhaps remember what Challice's actions cause: tonnes of contaminated waste = more waste to landfill = higher cost = increased council tax.
    I do hope you're telling the truth?
  • SusanCarter
    SusanCarter Posts: 781 Forumite
    500 Posts
    Altarf wrote:
    The sort of sanctimonious messages being posted here. Trying to force or embarrass people into doing something will fail, and rightfully so. If someone commented on me using plastic bags or buying fruit flown in from the other side of the world they would end up wishing they hadn't done so.
    I don't think the people posting on here would do that sort of thing even though they may desire to. I think the idea of the OP was for people to be able to vent their frustration with like-minded people. Being able to chat about it here with people with similar views might even help people not to comment on what other people are doing. Just because one is frustrated by other people's wastefulness doesn't mean one is sanctimonious.
    Altarf wrote:
    For example my local council has changed from a weekly collection of household waste to a bi-weekly collection. Alternate weeks it now collects garden waste (recyclables is yet another collection, again bi-weekly). So in the summer we have a stinking bin, and in the winter the garden waste lorry speeds around the collection route, as who has any garden waste in December? And yet with all these collections they still don't collect glass bottles, so if you want to recycle these you must drive to the bottle bank.
    :confused: What on earth do you put in your bin? The garden waste in December seems pretty stupid. My husband is a gardener and some of his customers have those bins but the collection stops in the winter.
    Altarf wrote:
    Since every house has three wheely bins, they are now threatening to prosecute householders for leaving them on the streets. Duh, they were the ones who forced the developers to cram in as many houses onto a site as possible, did they not think where somebody in a rabbit hutch terraced house was going to store three wheely bins?

    And they wonder why they don't have public support for this.

    I have been seriously tempted to buy a 4x4 due to the number of speed bumps that the council has installed in this area. They cannot be driven over at a sensible (and legal) speed in a normal car, yet vans, lorries and 4x4s can wizz over them at any speed they like. Duh, which is it more dangerous to have speeding.
    These three paragraphs are (as far as I understand it) what this thread was for. You are not being sanctimonious any more than anyone else was. I agree entirely that the annoying things you mention are annoying. They should have smaller bins and more frequent collections if they're going to have three wheely bins. There's a village I drive through where I have to slow down to about 10mph to go over the very frequent speed bumps and I always think they might as well reduce the sped limit if they're going to do that as it would be impossible for a car to go at 30mph. If as you say they don't slow down larger evhicles then it's pretty pointless anyway.

    I hope what I have said does not offend you (that is not my intention) but I feel you have been unfair to the other posters.
  • Altarf
    Altarf Posts: 2,916 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Sybarite wrote:
    I can't think of a more vaild or striking reason for buying a 4x4 - unless you like standing in petrol station forecourts more frequently than you currently do & paying for more fuel per mile.


    A big diesel 4x4 would probably use less fuel than my current car.
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,064 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Rampant Recycler
    Altarf wrote:
    The sort of sanctimonious messages being posted here.

    You beat me to it!

    I have absolutely no argument with anyone who wishes to implement themselves, what they consider, sound environmental practice.

    I do object however to those people who try to 'lay the finger of blame' on other people. e.g.

    The idiots who pass moral judgement on those who go on holiday by plane.

    Condemn as ‘selfish’ those who leave a TV on standby(and waste 50pence a year).

    If these paragons of virtue looked closely at their own malpractices, instead of being so critical of other, they might find that owning a computer, using the internet and posting hundreds of messages on this forum was also a waste of the ‘earth’s precious resources’

    Frankly there is an unhealthy undertone to some of the threads in this section of MSE.
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