Recycling Rant

Westyfield2

Westyfield2

Westyfield2

Soldato
Joined
14 Dec 2005
Posts
12,488
Location
Bath
This is an irrational rant. It is to be expected as all us mac users hug trees and all that.

Why is the local recycling so rubbish?

The council have changed it all so that one day is the collection of everything; Rubbish (Black Sacks), Recycling (Green Box) and Garden Waste/Cardboard (Green wheeled bins).
Now this seems quite a sensible change to me.

But today we put the old Next Directories out with it all. For anyone that doesn't know the Next Directory is a massive catalogue with a solid 'cardboard' cover.
I don't have a clue which of the relevant boxes/bags it should be so it just went next to them.

Rubbish: Can be recycled so no point in landfilling it (makes sense).
Garden/Cardboard: Yea the covers cardboard but the papers shiny.
Recycling box: It's cardboard.

I thought we're meant to be encouraged to recycle everything? Next week they're going inside one of the bin bags!

Also fruit juice cartons. We get through 6-8 a week of that Tropicana stuff "Recyclable where facilities exist" and guess what, they won't take them.

And oil! Bank holiday monday we swapped gearboxes in the Westfield, so lost two gearboxes worth of old oil. You used to be able to stick it in a water bottle (so they can see what it is) and put it in the recycling box.. but will they take it? :mad:

Also the hassle of having to remove all the labels and tape from the cardboard boxes.... my time is precious!

That is all. Hope you enjoyed reading. But yea; I thought we're encouraged to be recycling but sticking it all in the bin is looking a much more attractive option.
 
GuRkHa//$PIMP$ said:
Burn it all ;)
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You should see the pile down the bottom of the garden that's waiting for a Bonfire Night... and lots of it's laurel :D



Actually that's another thing: The Garden Waste/Cardboard wheelie bin is only emptied fortnightly (and they charge for it :mad:). I cannot recall a fortnight when it didn't get filled up and stuff was added to the bonfire pile instead.
 
The thing that bugs me is plastic recycling. Every piece of recyclable plastic is stamped with a type number which says what it is and what process is to be used to recycle it but no one uses that to describe what they take. It's all "plastic bottles", "food containers" etc.

What the heck is wrong with "Type 1 or 2"? Then you just look at the bit of plastic, check the mark and if it's 1 or 2 it goes in the recycling. Simples!
 
Westyfield2 said:
And oil! Bank holiday monday we swapped gearboxes in the Westfield, so lost two gearboxes worth of old oil. You used to be able to stick it in a water bottle (so they can see what it is) and put it in the recycling box.. but will they take it? :mad:
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Take it to your local council recycling centre. They will usually have a place to dispose of oil.
 
The recycling guys in Brighton are brilliant, even if you throw everything into one box they sort it out right there in the street without a word of complaint!
 
rpstewart said:
The thing that bugs me is plastic recycling. Every piece of recyclable plastic is stamped with a type number which says what it is and what process is to be used to recycle it but no one uses that to describe what they take. It's all "plastic bottles", "food containers" etc.

What the heck is wrong with "Type 1 or 2"? Then you just look at the bit of plastic, check the mark and if it's 1 or 2 it goes in the recycling. Simples!
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totally agree.

i can't stand it when some people just can't be arsed to recycle.

one rubbish bin with a paper recycling bin here next to it, the amount of people that still chuck paper in the rubbish bin... :/

one of my pet hates.
 
Better than Belfast, The place has one small box per house and they people reject almost everything!!! (and leave rude notes not explaining what can be recycled but what they cant be bothered to take away). This included some of those air bags ocuk ship things in (that clearly state recyclable on the side), any tetra cartons (juice cartons) and anything that isnt dishwasher clean! :( (pain when im just a cheap student with no dishwasher, but a big desire to recycle).

St Albans is just as bad as Belfast as on one wants the incinerator/recycling centre near them (so only slightly more stuff than Belfast can be recycled)

Makes me miss MK sadly... (They take EVERYTHING, and sort it in the uber centre that we all got tours of back in 1st and middle school).
 
I agree with the OR (original rant). It used to be that if you were a recycler, you were doing the right thing. These days..
 
Milton Keynes is great. They take everything.

Will either sort it out on street or back at the recycle factory they have. I've never had anything left.
 
We more of less take everything now apart from yogurt and spread pots as we just cannot get a market to sell them on.

The juice cartons are Tetra-Pak and we started taking these a few months back after running a pilot for a year.

Some Councils really do a good job of cunfusing everyone, the bin I provide allows glass, Tetra, paper, cardbord, plastic bottles and tins all in the one bin which is so much easier for the customer.

Some have lost the plot and providse 5 different containers which is just mad.
 
Excellent stuff, got a leaflet through the door at the weekend.

New blue bin system that takes everything that the green bin doesn't essentially :).
 
See this is what I don't get.

It costs money to landfill. Tight EU regulations mean that the UK is paying millions in penalties because they are filling up too much land with junk. Yet everything recycled has to be at a profit?

Why can't councils just be happy with recycling at cost prices.

Yoghurt pots for example. There isn't a market for it but does that mean we shouldn't recycle? Actually Tetrapak(tm) is easy to recycle and I don't know why Yoghurt isn't in tetrapak already (see innocent smoothie) since you can already get 200ml apple juice cartons I'm sure tetra could make yoghurt pots quite easily.

We don't have wheelie bins here you have to by cheapo brown bags from the company who takes your rubbish 3€ for a 60 litre brown and 1.50€ for a plastics one. The dump costs 1€ to get in and takes no brown bag rubbish only recycling stuff e.g. paper, grass, plastics, metals, wood, clothes and oils etc... They have a good system for taking old paint brushes, rollers and paint though.)

They collect plastics and paper once a month it means you wanna have your yoghurt pots and tins clean otherwise you'll have a smelly house/garage.The list of plastics they don't take is double the length of the ones they do. :(
 
Adsta said:
Milton Keynes is great. They take everything.

Will either sort it out on street or back at the recycle factory they have. I've never had anything left.
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Gotta agree!

MK/Buckinghamshire have black bags for general and clear red for anything recyclable and a little bin for food waste. This method is a really good and the most user efficient/friendly method i've seen!

The Northamptonshire part has green wheelie bin (cardboard/garden), black wheelie bin (general), black bin (glass/paper) and green bin (plastic/metal) which is a complete pain in the rear, who has space for 4 big bins! they collect one colour bin one week, then the other the next. So not only do the combinations make no sense but having general rubbish lingering for 2 weeks is a health risk
 
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Goberpiles316 said:
We more of less take everything now apart from yogurt and spread pots as we just cannot get a market to sell them on.

The juice cartons are Tetra-Pak and we started taking these a few months back after running a pilot for a year.

Some Councils really do a good job of cunfusing everyone, the bin I provide allows glass, Tetra, paper, cardbord, plastic bottles and tins all in the one bin which is so much easier for the customer.

Some have lost the plot and providse 5 different containers which is just mad.
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where i am we have general waste, paper,glass/plastics and garden waste. which is a simple enough system to use but yet people still cant work out that they need to split them up.

we dont mind if theres lables on the tins and glass or if the papers in plastic bags as this is all sorted at the two depots we drop at, but yet people seem to be unable to use the bins correctly.

and get all uspet when you dont take say there paper bin because its half full of tins and bottles and house hold rubish and paper.

people think its bad now, wait till the laws changed like in japan where they have 7 or 8 bins, so we could end up with 2 types of plastic, food waste,paper,polystyreen,glass,2 for tines aly/steel and a general house hold one. then add to that a garden waste bin. everything has to be label free and clean as well. should keep people busy :D
 
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