Peter T Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 observer. A topic close to your heart. Did you see the prog, on ITV tonight (8pm) about recycling? It would seem that in this country we don't have a clue as to what it is all about. I confess that as far as plastic goes I have no idea apart from the milk cartons. Whilst the guy was talking, I checked out my "Can't believe it's not butter" carton and there is NO marking on it whatsoever. The council don't seem to be able to advise us on this matter, yet the Europeans do it so much better. It would appear that one of the main stumbling blocks (as with most things these days) is that the government set targets. When will they learn???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Sorry I missed it. As I understand it: there's only one winner with this nonesense - the EU; who indirectly tax local Councils (= rate payers) for excess landfill. Problem is, local Councils are trying to invest in "re-cycling" schemes, but it appears (certainly in this recession) that they arn't commercially viable or sustainable - catch 22. What they are not doing, is reducing waste at source IE throughout the packaging industry and introducing "old fashioned" ideas like the retailer giving money back on empty bottles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Kennedy Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Funnily enough yesterday afternoon, I was at the Ecocyclewaste site near the Fiddlers Ferry power station, this is where Warrington's blue bin recyclables go to be sorted. Interesting. I saw bits of the programme....the bits with more "obsessive" members of the public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 What they are not doing, is reducing waste at source IE throughout the packaging industry and introducing "old fashioned" ideas like the retailer giving money back on empty bottles. That's coz the targets are based on percentage of waste recycled, not total quantity of waste. If, for example, all glass bottles went back to the retailer for washing and re-use it would be a good thing environmentally, but there would then be significantly less weight of waste in the council's recycling stream. This would mean a lower figure for percentage of total waste recycled and a missed target - and we all know that meeting targets is much more important than actually doing something sensible. This is also why our local council turns a blind eye to restaurants and bars filling public bottle banks with their empty bottles, which they should pay for the removal of as trade waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted March 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Sorry I missed it. As I understand it: there's only one winner with this nonesense - the EU; who indirectly tax local Councils (= rate payers) for excess landfill. Problem is, local Councils are trying to invest in "re-cycling" schemes, but it appears (certainly in this recession) that they arn't commercially viable or sustainable - catch 22. What they are not doing, is reducing waste at source IE throughout the packaging industry and introducing "old fashioned" ideas like the retailer giving money back on empty bottles. there was a woman from the packaging industry on, and she wouldn't here a word against packaging. And it was mentioned about packaging in shops etc. the highlight being that one woman wouldn't buy a cabbage that was wrapped. Have you noticed in Sainsbury's that they sell broccoli wrapped and unwrapped? I wonder why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianR Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 unwrapped is miles cheaper than the pre-packaged stuff. Buy your veg loose as its cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Whatever happened to that "home composting" idea; think it was a box for all your green waste to rot; sure I've seen some where they use the gas produced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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