Beware compostable pedal-bin liners

[charles]

our "green" bins are brown. Green is for the re-cycling bin.

[Andy Burns]

"The Green Dot does not necessarily mean that the packaging is recyclable, will be recycled or has been recycled. It is a symbol used on packaging in some European countries and signifies that the producer has made a financial contribution towards the recovery and recycling of packaging in Europe."

[Chris Hogg]

+1

[Max Demian]

So it's green puffery. I wonder whether continentals have a better idea as to its meaning than we.

[T i m]

But again, we were talking about the content, not colour of the bin. ;-)

'Green waste' is a broad and generally accepted term to mean the sort of organic matter that you get when you mow the lawn or trim the hedges.

FWIW, 'here' we have a black wheely bin for general waste, a green wheely bin for 'green waste' and several smaller black bins, some with plastic lids, some with net covers for 'paper and cardboard', 'tin and glass' and another for plastics. The contents of all have to comply with their requirements, eg, food containers need to be rinsed, plastic bottles squashed, lids must be fully closed on the wheely bins etc.

None of it is at all difficult to comply with and every request is for good reason, if you are a reasonable person that is. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

<snip>

Why not, we are all part of that category.

She wouldn't be asking for my advice if that was the case eh?

As my dad used to say, 'Much of the harm done in this world isn't done by bad people but good people trying to help'.

So in some respects, many of the great unwashed trying to do the 'right thing' by recycling, but getting it very wrong are doing more harm to the process than if they hadn't bothered in the first place.

The issue is between the value of contaminated recycling and clean / valuable recyclable waste.

These good people assume there is *always* some magic fairy or machine that automagically sorts *everyone's* waste and / or recycling if they don't bother to, or don't get it right. They would be wrong in many cases.

eg. I have had it from the horses mouth at our local Council that they stopped trying to get top dollar for 'clean' recycled materials because too many of it's residents were unable to read, understand or conform to the pretty straightforward pamphlet they put out on the subject.

Additionally, Daughter used to work on the LC's 'Help desk' and so has had thousands of conversations with residents, often trying to get them to understand what the council does, or doesn't want in the various recycling boxes. They phone because in many cases the box has not been collected because the collection operator has seen that it contains the wrong stuff.

In many cases, instead of learning, being advised what to do, they argue and insist on doing it their way?

So now we all risk paying more council tax because 'the great unwashed' are too thick, confused or lazy to even try to do what's required.

If the council supplied pamphlet went into greater detail about why the recycling needs to be 'clean' (as in not dirty or mixed) and with more advice about the various recycling markings etc, what percentage would read, understand and follow it?

The issue is that 'most people' live for them ... and really CGAF about anyone else .... until it affects them of course ... like they tread in dog / cat mess or don't get their overfilled and mixed waste bin collected ...

Cheers, T i m

[whisky-dave]

I'd say that's the coincils problem or an excuse. How can a bag filled with vegtable matter be blown around a site unless they aren't transfering it properly between containers.

or they just employ millenials perhaps as cheap labour. I wonder if millenials are recyclable there must be a use for them ;-)

[whisky-dave]

But you need to know the colur so you can put it in the correct bin.

My compostable waste such as leaf cutting and kitchen food waste goes in our Brown bin. The green bin is for reciclable stuff like plasic, card and glass bottles, but not glass from windows or broken glass for some reason.

Then black bin is for everything else I assume.

So why not have a green bin for that.

Green waste like the trianganler 'icon' of two green arrows.

I was told that plastic milk bottles are recyclable but the plastic tops aren't.

So where do you put you pizza boxes ?

[T i m]

<snip>

Are you really so thick or just still trolling?

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

<snip>

Are you really so thick or still just trolling?

Cheers, T i m

[Theo]

AIUI there are two types.

Regular carrier bags are LDPE.

The old 'oxo biodegradable' bags (from about 10 years ago) were LDPE with some kind of unstable binder. Over time the binder would decay and the bag would shatter into little bits - but those bits were still LDPE to get into the ecosystem. These wouldn't compost in industrial composting systems (which get hot for a short time, not the months the bags needed).

The current batch of 'compostable' bags are made of PLA or PVA which are polymers of starch. These don't readily degrade in the environment (they need heat), but do degrade in industrial composting systems. They don't have as good mechanical properties as regular LDPE, which is why they can tear in use.

[John Rumm]

Alas that is not always the case - it depends on the local practice. For example, many green waste collections do not permit waste food to be included. Whereas ours does (and is collected every week because of this)

Yup, still needlessly complicated. They should collect all the recyclables in one bin.

It does rather depend on the circumstances.

For some, having three wheelie bins is difficult to comply with if they have a property that opens onto the street, and no place to store the bins without dragging them through the house.

Not all kitchens have space for separate general and recyclable bins. Which then makes sorting far more difficult and messy etc.

[whisky-dave]

I'm asking a question that is all, it's the council incompedence or an excuse.

Just becasue you are cluelless .

"sorry we can't recycle what's in the bag in case the bag blows away" Pathetic.

[whisky-dave]

Are you saying the colour of the bin is irrelivant to recycling ? In my Lab we have blue reccyling bins that are only meant to have cardboard and paper placed in them.

The cardboard bins (with plastic lining are for paper and plastic. The grey bins with plastic linning are for general waste.

We have cages that are for computer waste ONLY. and other caged bins that are for electrica waste under the Weee collection service.

What bin do you use for electrical waste such as old LCD clocks and the plugin transformer PSU that come with phones and most devices ? Which colour bin to you place them in ?

[charles]

we place such things in a labelled bag alongside the recycling bin - or take them personal;ly to the "Community Recycling Centre"

[Chris Hogg]

From your Wiki link, under

in the section 'Pros & cons of additive based film/bag', under 'Pros', the last item says "Some bags degrade at about the same rate as a leaf. In fact, when used as bin liners, bags can start degrading after three or four days of being in the bin", which is exactly what happened to mine! Perhaps it should have been listed under 'Cons'!

[T i m]

<snip>

I think we have gone though several variants over the years. That said, 'green waste' is generally only a limited and fairly well understood generic term. The biggest variant (as you say) being if they include 'kitchen waste' or not.

Possibly ...

They *could* collect all the recyclables in one bin, depending on the cost of separation at the plant(s) they use. They currently don't (round here and many other places).

Of course, however, generally ...

True. Round here they seem to leave them on the pavement, often chained to the wall.

Or they live in flats that have no recycling facilities etc.

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

If only ... and the question was already answered (or would have been, had you not been a thick / troll). ;-(

Neither, it's an undesirable side-effect of the process, often to the point that it is limited (to specific requirements).

I don't need the hint mate, ironically it seems you do?

Aren't you just.

Cheers, T i m

[Brian Reay]

Put the ?extinction rebels? and other zealots ( including you) on the job,

7 days a week, without pay. The added bonus would be they couldn?t cause chaos in our cities etc and we?d get a rest from your pious crap.

[Brian Reay]

Hardly surprising.

Many ?environmentally better? things are no more than sops to the Tims of this world who believe in man made global warming etc. They like nothing better that preaching their nonsense to others.

The environmental gurus are no different to the religious cult leaders which were fashionable awhile ago, they also often fleeced the foolish of their money with promises of looming disaster. Their weak minded followers did all kinds of things, including murder- the environmentalists are only just getting started. Tim already wants to spray you house with rubbish.