| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:The environmental backfire of the new recycling system | Forum Home |
| Posted by: | Philippa Bond | |
| Date/Time: | 15/03/09 09:58:00 |
| This is a very big change all at once for many people (especially those who did not recycle before) and I do recognise that you have problems in Hounslow. Your reply is interesting and shows what a terrible state we have allowed the country to get into with the increasing amount of waste we have been making without a thought of what it was doing to us and where it was going and what it was doing to people there. Removing our waste is the only function many people seem to think our Councils do, when there are so many other important things that need their time and their (our) money. In some places it has got to the point where people are just throwing their rubbish out of their windows giving no thought to anyone else or the environment. It has increased so much that some crunch was inevitable. You will also see from a previous thread how horrified I was that the bring banks at Homebase were being closed. We have been cramming people into smaller and smaller spaces without the necessary amenities - ie houses divided without adequate bin space. Yes, there does need to be flexibility in the system as we all lead different lives in different spaces. I think at the start of this there can also be a problem as people will have stored plastics for example because the new system was about to begin. I roll my plastics bag and keep it in the upturned green box and only put the little I have in it just before putting it out. I concentrate on giving the collectors the food waste, the plastics and the cardboard (often just flattened in a large cereal packet). I put my house number on my food waste bin having received back someone else's obviously never lined (I use newspaper) one which took hours to soak clean. Talking to and liaising with neighbours helps a lot as does flattening cans, plastic bottles and cardboard. I've adjusted what I do several times to get to what I do now. However the less you have to recycle/throw out the easier it is and being able to use other local bring banks - either in the street or at the supermarket gives flexibility making it easier. Don't BRAG and CRAG have easy to read lists of bring bank sites? It is wonderful not having a dripping smelly black bin bag with food in it to carry through the house. BTW I went back to using the milkman as I decided that the service he provides is better value. Fewer visits to the shops to find the milk (most deliberately placed so that you are tempted by everything else first) is I reckon cheaper. He also delivers daily and collects empties daily using an electric vehicle. Milk bottles can apparently be reused up to 10 times. It is a great shame that this community service has been so undermined by the supermarkets being allowed to use milk as a loss-leader in the way they do. For those who cannot get out and about easily it can be a lifeline. |