Recycling thought

[Clive George]

For the tins, I guess it'll just be burned off when its melted.

cheers, clive

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

*Ding*

Si

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

We don't have one. Is my weekly recycling enough to offset the energy used by your dishwasher? Can I not bother recycling because I don't have a dishwasher?

Si

[Stephen Howard]

We don't here...the last time I looked at the flyer that accompanied the council recycling service bin, it said something along the lines of "Yes, you can recycle pet food tins...and no, you don't need to wash them". On that basis, no tins/bottles etc. get washed....unless there happens to be any dishwater remaining in the sink.

I now use milk from plastic cartons at work, and when they're empty I throw them into a bin liner which I empty whenever it's full. I soon discovered that it doesn't take long for the bag to stink....so now I quarter fill one empty milk carton with water, to which I add a couple of drops of bleach - tipping the mix into each new empty carton. Seems to last for at least a couple of weeks before a refresh is needed, and the bag stays fresh and can remain in use until it falls apart.

Regards,

[George (dicegeorge)]

if you put the tops back on the milk bottles they wont stink, and you can squeeze them smaller so more fit in your black bag

[Stephen Howard]

They won't take the tops, I'm told.

Regards,

[Chris J Dixon]

My local authority has recently clarified that labels may be left on. However, the rules vary so much between areas that this is probably no help at all to anybody else :-(

Chris

[Dave Liquorice]

Our plastics recycling asks for tops to be removed, so they are and put in the recycling seperately.

As for washing, our tins, bottles etc get rinsed in the old washing up water. A tiny amount extra water might be required but not significant. Now if had a dishwasher that *everything* went through then things would be different.

[David Hansen]

On Thu, 7 Feb 2008 18:39:07 -0000 someone who may be "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" wrote this:-

Only if one does it badly. Plonking a few tins and plastic bottles into the water just used to wash up saucepans and shaking them backwards and forwards before placing them to dry uses no more hot water.

However, recycling is not as good as not having the packaging in the first place. Anyone with an open mind can work their way through to understand the issues.

Those who see no reason not to lob everything in a giant wheelie bin should consider the little film at to see what happens to it.

[Mary Fisher]

Can't you wash them in cold water?

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

How do you know that?

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Wine is beginning to be bottled in plastic. It's the future.

Mary

>

[Huge]

Next to none.

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

Most things, yes, but even that "costs" energy that wouldn't be otherwise used. I'm not saying recycling's not a good idea but is it doing any good or is the work required in doing it actually outweighing the benefits?

Si

[Tim Southerwood]

Mary Fisher coughed up some electrons that declared:

I know what the future is: returnable glass bottles with a deposit. It worked in 1970 and it can work now, if someone can kick the industry up the backside to (re)organise it.

There is no reason a well made glass bottle needs to be considered single use.

Think about it:

Retailer sells bottle plus product.

Customer consumes product.

a) Customer returns bottle on next visit (they almost do this now, with many glass recycling facilities being located in supermarket car parks)

or

b) Kids come knocking to collect bottles so they can keep the deposit (added benefit, kids learn to "work" to obtain reward).

Bottles collected by returning, otherwise empty, delivery lorry.

Bottles washed and sorted (should be automatable to a greater or lesser degree) and resold at a discount back to original drinks manufacturers.

I honestly don't know what's so difficult about that, apart from someone actually needs to organise it.

No glass needs to be melted, major legs of the return transport are just using spare capacity. Very energy efficient I would have though.

Cheers

Tim

[Doki]

That's the bit that gets me. One of my parent's houses - no recycling at all. My other parent's house - recycling with blue and brown bins. Girlfriend's parents house up the road, brown and blue bins, but completely different stuff can and can't go into the bins. The colours of bin aren't even standardised. My house in Sheffield, no recycling at all apart from paper, but then Sheffield has an incinerator.

[The Natural Philosopher]

What about 'I am of the opinion that' translates into 'knowledge' in your tiny mind, Mary?

[Broadback]

Most of this is encouraged by the "Global warming save the world" rubbish. I accept there is global warming, but not that it is caused by man. Anyway it is not save the world (the world will get over it quite easily) it is save mankind. I believe in re-cycling if it nurtures natural resources for the future, however does sending tons of glass bottles to China to be recycled help? Also the inconsistencies of recycling is rubbish (pun intended). For example our council's local recycling centre have a bin for waxed containers, however we cannot put them in our recycling bin.

[Mogga]

As would any food residue?

Our council doesn't currently collect food packaging plastic - like meat trays or yoghurt pots. This is because the plant can't recycle it yet - because the food sinks into the surface of the plastic. Well that#s what they said anyway. But this plastic wrapping has to still go in the grey bin so you've still got to wash it to stop the grey bin stinking at the end of a fortnight. At least it's not hot at the moment but I can see that being worse.

After our recycling trial has been completed they will be rolling it out to the whole of Oldham. We've been given two food recycling bins; one small for the kitchen and one big for outside. We were given a roll of special bags but they're quite dear so I'm using newspaper were possible to wrap food waste.

We were supposed to have been given extra huge green bags for paper and carboard but these haven't appeared so we're using a couple of green bags a fortnight. I have no problem with this bit of the exercise apart from being conerned that I build a potential bonfire inside my house because it's better than it being outside my house until collection night. These bigger bags sound great apart from how on earth you carry them when they're full.

I'd like to think that they recycle everything at the tip and avoid as much landfill as possible. They're going to be burning it and making energy apparently soon.

[Mary Fisher]

Aye, there's the rub.

Ex ellent little film, I'm sure that no-one would choose to live near a landfill site. As one of the interviewees said, we wouldn't stand people dumping their wheelie bins in our back gardens yet some people have no choice but to live with our rubbish.

Kevin Anderson's interview, saying that we must start making changes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions NOW rather than thinking that what happens in the future is OK, is spot on.

Mary