Recycling and public incompetence

criminal_smile

D.A. wrote:

Be glad you *can* recycle! My wife contacted Lisburn council this week to ask when we would be getting a recycling bin. "In the summer - maybe", was the reply.

And bear in mind this will *only* be for paper. Absolutely nothing else will be recycled by Lisburn Council. Bunch of incompetent fools.

Just to let you know D.A.
I've got my green bin from Lisburn council, and it is only for paper. But not yellow pages, any type of shiny paper, envelopes, cardboards..........
the list of things not allowed is far longer than what you are allowed to put in the bin, so you'll still have half a normal black bin full of all that advertising crap that comes through the door.

sor_fes2

Actually I think knowing what can be recycled and what can go in the blue bin is the difficult thing because they are not the same thing. The list that was sent out describing what can go in the blue bin does not cover all the items that have a recycle icon on them. So i have to say I am confused about recycling. ( And sorry to say, I am not stupid! I'd feel happier about my incompetence with recycling if I was))

Why can't glass bottles go in the blue bin? All the recyclables are mixed up anyway? I finally remembered to go to the glass recycle bin on Saturday last since Christmas.... Why can't envelopes be recycled? Is the sticky glue really going to mess up the pulping down of the paper and mushing it all together again, drying out and rolling into paper?

Trying to get my parents to 'correctly' recycle is also difficult. They don't look for any recycle icon. They just put all plastic-type packagaing in the blue bin (cans and paper are easily identified). They however leave on all the clingfilm type plastic, and bubblewrap (ususally small pieces in the cartons), and polystyrene. They have the attitude that if you want them to recycle they will but don't ask them to sort it. It's all or nothing. (They are both over 70).

My brother who lives in London where they have some recycle cartons and does his bit there, had to ask me whether something went in the blue bin or not, when he was home at Christmas.

Question: Is it just the 2 curving arrows icon that tells you if an item is recycle and should be put in the blue bin or am I even doing that wrong!

IvanOpinion

sor_fes2 wrote:

Actually I think knowing what can be recycled and what can go in the blue bin is the difficult thing because they are not the same thing. The list that was sent out describing what can go in the blue bin does not cover all the items that have a recycle icon on them. So i have to say I am confused about recycling. ( And sorry to say, I am not stupid! I'd feel happier about my incompetence with recycling if I was))

.....

Apparently each council has different capabilities. At the minute NDBC only have the capability of handling certain items - the ones on the list supplied with the blue bin. My understanding is that eventually we will be expected to put paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, tin cans (cleaned first) and glass into the blue bin (I think the Coleraine area already does this?). Follow the instructions as given by your council ... maybe it would be useful for them to explain WHY they can not take certain items.

Apparently, In NDBC we are going to get another wheelie bin for garden waste - I am running out of space for wheelie bins here I think the problem is the frequency of emptying it. Someone had suggested monthly however during the summer I don't think that I would want to put up with the smell of fermenting garden waste.

I have heard an arguement that it costs more to recycle than it does to create new. I would probably agree with this however when we recycle it does not deplete the earths resources as much. Hopefully, as someone else pointed out, economy of scale will kick in and it will be as cheap to recycle than it is to build from new.

Ivan

BG_Porgy

Ivan, you have picked up aspects of it incorrectly It is very very complicated It stems from EC Directives about diverting biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill ie the stuff that creates methane ie global warming and can explode if gets in the right/wrong circumstances Leachate is the liquid given off which can pollute groundwater

The penalties for failure to achieve targets will be passed on to Councils who get their money from householders ( Council Tax ) Landfill allowance penalties differ across the UK In England it is to be £150 per tonne ( each house produces c. 1.1 tonnes of BMW which 68% in England is BMW 70 % in N Ireland and 63% in Scotland, sorry do not know Wales figure ) but even then In Scotland proposal is for the penalty to start at £10 then to increase £25 then £50 then £200. The amount of diversion is not 100% and is also on an increasing scale 25% diversion by 2010, 50% by 2013 and 65% by 2020. AND waste is growing by c. 3 % pa The priority is also to stop the GROWTH
We must reduce reduce reduce I told you it was complicated and this is only scratching the surface If there is interest I could give more info This is my FIRST post so be kind to me out there. Last point do not buy Easter eggs for your kids over packaged and over priced buy bars of chocolate much better value

TTFN BG Porgy

leftieM

Question: Is it just the 2 curving arrows icon that tells you if an item is recycle and should be put in the blue bin or am I even doing that wrong![/QUOTE]

The curving arrows on plastic are usually associated with a number which indicates the type of plastic (PTFE, PE, etc.) Plastics have to be segregated according to type for remoulding as they all have different physical and chemical properties. If you melt different types together you could get a brittle material which would be of no use.
Curving arrows in general give information about the type of material in the event of recycling - unfortunately it's not an invite to put it in your blue bin!

I'm in favour of recycling but I also think the issue of how we act as consumers should be addressed. For instance, most people don't bring plastic bags to the supermarket so they end up getting new bags at every shop and throwing them out after 1 use. Why not reuse bags? Most people buy milk in plastic cartons - ever thought about using bottles from the milkman? Why not spend £200 more the next time you buy an appliance and get one that lasts 20 years rather than 5. There are so many ways that we can cut down on waste generation. Recycling tries to address the issue of waste generation but does nothing to reduce it. It's just shutting the door after the horse has bolted as far as I can see.

BG_Porgy

D.A. wrote:

Be glad you *can* recycle! My wife contacted Lisburn council this week to ask when we would be getting a recycling bin. "In the summer - maybe", was the reply.

And bear in mind this will *only* be for paper. Absolutely nothing else will be recycled by Lisburn Council. Bunch of incompetent fools.

Dear DA your remarks are offensive Yes it is very frustrating for you. You do not know of the circumstances within which the staff have to operate. In many cases the staff are just as frustrated as the public....even more so as they have to put up with intolerance and ignorance but still be polite in the face of it.

Come on .... think again ask yourself how much of the circumstances do you really understand

Costly .... it could cost the earth if we don't !!!!!!

BG Porgy

arkonite_babe

For anyone who wants more info on recycling and what we should be doing check out this RECYCLING website. It is relevant for Northern Ireland only.

In regards to recyling aluminium cans, did you know that if you recycle only one can, you save enough energy to run a tv for three hours! A "canny" fact for you all!

More recycling info HERE and HERE

arkonite_babe

Check this thread on the old style board for more recycling tips.

IvanOpinion

BG Porgy et al
Thanks for your input and it is nice to see some 'cost-to-the-consumer' figures being given. One of my main points however is that we ALL have to contribute to this, those neighbours around you that dump the wrong stuff in the wrong bins (because they are too lazy to follow the instructions) or those that have destroyed the recycling bins or sent them back are going to start costing YOU money.

Ignoring all the 'right-and-wrong arguments', ignoring the 'save the planet arguments', this is a money saving site and, in NI (as well as rest of Europe), if we do not collectively meet our targets for recycling then we all can expect to pay an ever increasing amount for the privilege of not doing so. I believe that some government in the VERY NEAR future is going to use this as an excuse to start collecting additional tax revenue well above what the landfill and other costs involved are?

Ivan

IvanOpinion

Just a follow-on thought from others comments

Why do we not go back to paper bags instead of plastic?
Why do we not go back to cardboard boxes instead of shrink wrap?
Why do we not go back to glass bottles instead of plastic?

I have heard all the arguments under the sun and most of them stem from cost. I would have thought most parents would be willing to pay another 1p or so per item to protect the climate so that their children and grand-children can enjoy life. The argument about glass being to heavy to carry has mainly disappeared because all most people have to do is carry it from the shelf to the shopping cart to the car to the kitchen. Not exactly an endurance test. The argument about broken glass being dangerous ... well I am sure we can now build bottles from some form of safety glass. The argument about plastic bags being stronger seems to be a non-starter given the strength of the plastic bags I always seem to get. Do what other countries do ... in the Republic of Ireland they charge for plastic bags ... good idea, it has managed to significantly reduce the amount used.

Just opening the discussion up a bit ......

Ivan