Are there enough recycling facilities in your town/city?

[RieOrg]

I watched the programme DUMPED and it highlighted a big problem that I think we are all aware of but dont really think about too much. It was a great idea which involved putting a group on people on a tip and then leaving them to fend for themselves and live off the tip rubbish.

It really inspired me to make an effort to recycle my own rubbish whenever possible so I bought some recycling bags and filled them with rubbish to take to be recycled.

When i finally went to the recycling bins I realised that there was no where for plastic, paper or tins and it has highlighted a big problem that there is to facilitate the need to recycle.

Does this match the problem in other areas or is this just a localised problem? :|

[katelj]

I think it varies everywhere to be honest. We're really lucky where I live.

We have a small black bin for things that can't be recycled. Any food waste goes straight into the compost.

Everything else that can be recycled goes into a large green wheelie bin which is collected once a fortnight. We don't have to separate anything as they do all that.

Not that we've ever needed to use it, but our local supermarket also all the recycling banks (paper, glass, clothes, plastic, aluminium) in their car park so there's no excuses!

When I lived in Swindon, the only thing that was collected for recycling was paper and card, although there were recycling points locally. Although, I remember we could never find a plastic one. More definitely needs to be done to encourage people and whilst its second nature to me, many people just need that extra kick up the bum to recycle and to make it as easy as possible for them.

[RieOrg]

Thats interesting! It would make sense if they just had a standard recycling unit in every main town! A bit of consistency wouldnt go a miss would it?

Its no good the council thinking the citizen should do all of the work or vice versa!

[.Spiralling.]

We have a black wheelie bin and a green one. They each get collected fortnightly, on alternate weeks. It's rare that our black bin is full, but the recycling one always is. We have a separate Blue Box for glass which is collected one a month, and this is always full to overflowing. We also have several recycling points locally that take the stuff not collected in our bins, such as clothing etc. We compost food waste to use on our garden but I think the council is also rolling out a brown bin scheme to collect compostable waste for those who haven't a compost bin.

I'm pretty impressed with our facilities, and it makes it much easier for us - before we used to have separate recycling boxes in the kitchen which we then took ourselves.

[RieOrg]

Yes that sounds like the way it should be. Im not sure if it makes a difference because I live in an apartment and we have shared bins? Perhaps they only supply limited resources for recycling locally because its all dealt with at each home, ie different bins as you mentioned Spiralling!
Im glad its only me having problems though, at least its not as bad as I thought?

[dave_n]

not really...we have a green bin, black bin , one for paper, one for bottles....BUT i am limited to recycling every 2 weeks...so every 1 week i go to the tip in my eco-unfriendly car and chuck it all in the skips.

[AdamJ]

I audited a landfill a while ago. Black bags as far as the eye could see, along with clear bags full of plastics and cans and pink bags full of paper, all nicely sorted then dumped in the same landfill...

[dave_n]

I audited a landfill a while ago. Black bags as far as the eye could see, along with clear bags full of plastics and cans and pink bags full of paper, all nicely sorted then dumped in the same landfill...

i've heard similar stories too...i think our recycling efforts are simply to cut costs for the local councils so they dont have to sort out the rubbish

[AdamJ]

It wasn't that they were saving the council sorting anything - it was all in the same big hole. All that had changed was the colour of some of the bags filling up the hole - they may as well have just used black bags and ignored the whole thing, as Conwy Council still do.

No urban myth - saw it with me own eyes n'everything.

[RieOrg]

Now you come to say that, I have heard that too. Dont the council get extra funds from the government for being green? This would explain all the extra bins but its a real shame if they dont follow through with it! Like i said earlier it has to be an effort on both sides!

[.Spiralling.]

We had a leaflet through the door from our council this week with the bin schedule for next year and information about their recycling efforts. Apparently they were slated a couple of years ago because they were only recycling something like 18% of waste and now its more like 36% I think they said. They are aiming for 45% by 2010 I think.

[RayB]

These things cannot be done overnight, the national target is 40% of waste recycled by 2010 (councils should be north of 30% at this point).

So yes, a chunk of segregated waste still goes "needlessly" to landfill - this will take a generation optimise.

The point is we had to start and we have.

I'm lucky - Chichester District Council is one of the top performers in the country and the range of stuff they collect is commendable. (Fortnightly collections dont bother me either)

[fastmower]

Late to this thread as I am a newcomer to the forum!

A big problem with recycling is educating the public and businesses alike I think. There is a popular feeling that if an item is marked with the recyclable symbol, then it's okay to throw it in the recycling collection bin whatever it is, and people are soon up in arms if said item is left in the bin by the collecting agency. However, the presence of the symbol only means that the item is capable of being recycled. If the nearest user/re-processor of the particular type of plastic is at the other end of the country, then it is simply not cost effective to transport it so far.

If the items ARE picked up, they then have to be sorted out - usually by hand, at the next stage in the line which is baling/bulking for onward transport or sale. This link in the chain is then landed with the task of disposing of the unwanted/unsaleable polymers which increases their costs and generally makes the whole recycling process less and less viable.

We are currently recycling plastic bottles from around 55000 homes in Lancashire, and you would be amazed at the items we have to remove from the collection when we sort it. Although every household has been leafletted with full details of what should and shouldn't be put out for recycling, we get around three quarters of a ton each week of items that we then have to pay to dispose of. These include childrens toys, clothing, electrical appliances (irons, hairdryers etc) toilet cisterns, aerosol cans, foodtrays, plastic packaging, kitchen equipment and so on. The list is endless - and in fact we started a "highlights collection" at one time until we rapidly ran out of space!

We are also blessed with a fair number of households who think that it is perfectly acceptable to throw unwashed food containers and ready meal trays, and bottles half full of ketchup or tubs of soup straight into the recycling bin. We also process a mixed recyclables collection from a local University, which is supposed to be comprised of plastic bottles and steel and aluminium cans only. I would estimate that around 40% of that collection goes to landfill. We get food waste by the bin liner full, sanitary towels, carrier bags full of used nappies, car parts, a bag of vomit, used condoms.....you name it - and this from the supposedly educated end of society! Quite delightful as you can probably imagine!

Businesses too need to think a little more about what they do with their waste. Plastic films and paper have to be seperate - you would think it would be reasonably common sense. Yet we have businesses who are putting out, week after week, large bags of small plastic bags, each one containing a single piece of tissue paper. Obviously there is no cost effective way of dealing with it - an hours work by one man would result in a couple of ounces of tissue paper and the same in plastic film, so there is no point at all in them going to the effort of bagging it up in the first place. We also get companies who think it's okay to fill a bin liner with paper, cardboard, plastic film, plastic strapping, a few milk bottles, a coat hanger or two and the contents of a few ashtrays just to ice the cake as it were. Again, a complete waste of their time, and our money as we have to cover the disposal.

Hmm - I appear to have been having a minor rant! Apologies for that - but please don't always blame the recycler, or the council if things aren't going as they should. there are companies out there - like ours, who are really trying to make a difference and to provide a good service at a reasonable cost. We're not all driving round in Jags, and as you can see from the above, it can be less than savoury at times - but if everyone does their bit and just thinks for a moment about where the stuff they throw in the bin is going - then everyone will be happy!

Cheers all - back to saving the planet.......;)

Andy

[dodeca]

Hi all,
like Andy im new here, i have worked in the landfill and recycling business for the past nine years and from what ive seen its a load of rubbish parden the pun.
There are so many things that can be done and most of it could be done by the producers of the products before we even see them.
Recycling is a band waggon that companys use. Not all i may add but a lot of it is a con.
I dont want to rant to much but just think on this, when i was at school in the late 70s a friend of mine used to use a brand of plastic bags, these were bio degradable? so why o why arnt we using them today. Just using them would save on the landfill the transport and the big up roar and the cost put on to the poor customer. Just one example but you can see where im coming from.
I put together some years back a system of machines at the landfill i used to work for, that after sorting the waste only sent 11% of it to landfill.
But the cost was to much and the markets were not out there plus the company had a large hole and they only wanted to fill it.
Take the gent that can produce a crude oil from waste plastic, again why isnt that system being used.
We can as house holders do our bit but its not going to make a dent at the scale its being done.
The paper and card board is being stored till the price goes up and we can ship it over seas.
I just wish that more people could see through what we are all told and the hype of it all.
On a lighter note i know there are people and companys out there doing a good and worth while job.
I have since left the company i worked for and am now in the process of setting up a wood recycling business. You would think that, that would be a easy thing to do as it will help the local area wouldnt you.......
Any way a good thread and sorry for the rant.

Dodeca.

[Dawg]

I went to a tip in London years ago and found that there were people who made a living 'scavenging', or as said now, sorting the recycling for reuse. They were part of families who had done it for generations, and had their own, fiercely guarded turfs. I got involved doing a quite interesting story on/with them for a local rag.
Modernity, elfin safety, and the Liberal conscience intervened, (under Thatcher I believe, sodding do-gooder), and now it gets bundled and burnt, or exported, or even recycled as landfill....

...still, even if it worked, it was a teensy bit Dickensian, no? I don't think 'Bring back the Scavengers' will get many votes in the next election.

Historical link (http://eastlondonhistory.com/toshers-and-mudlarks/). (You'll think twice about calling someone 'Tosh').

[Bri]

We recently moved house,from having wheelie bins and well organised recycling facilities via the bin men same as others here to now just a composting bin for food waste and no organised means of waste collection. For instance the gardens were a mess, I've worked on them, 21 bags of grass and cuttings. The bin men opened the bags apparently on collection day and slapped a notice on them warning me about this is not recognised recyclable waste, or words to that effect. So like other poster I had to drive 3 miles to the nearest Community Waste Centre( rubbish dump isnt it???) and debag all the material into the garden waste skip. At present we do not have a clearly defined waste collection for our recyclable materials.I see the neighbours put theirs out in cardboard boxes with paper & glass, by the time the bin men arrive the seagulls have torn everything to shreds and is all over the road. I could go on forever with this, but you see where I'm coming from. Now I just dump everything in bags at this site weekly, its doing my head in with frustration.

[Recycling Man]

The UK produces 8 million tonnes (and rising) of waste paper but only reprocesses 4 million the rest is exported – a relatively good thing as it stops rain forests being cut down. You can convert mixed plastics to oil - given £5M you can convert 20MT of useless mixed plastics to 18MT of oil / day - some clever investor do the numbers then PM me. Clingfilm/Pallet wrap is worth £330/MT delivered to specific locations within the UK - reverse logistics (number crunching again) Agree with earlier comments on building machines on landfill sites, obvious - capital intensive (becoming feasible now but feel they will skip direct to waste to energy - it has its merits but if so then why recycle at all - recycling industry destroyed and society attitude changes. Wood recycling firm - good luck, what are you going to recycle the wood to? 1. waste to energy 2. Product that captures the carbon. Mixed plastics + wood = Composite products uum "a new species" mixed with plastics and put in woodburners -uum (logistics/manufacturing costs) The questions we may wish to think about are: Plastics - 1. That plastics can be manipulated into many molecular structures and how to deal with this effect. - householders generally see only plastics - how many different grades of plastic in a bacon wrap or even sandwich pack. idea - Waste to energy - either oil / gassification or LANDFILL (sort of lock in the carbon) Is this process cheaper than using "virgin energy". 2. Aluminium - excellent product to recycle. If only you could make carrier bags out of aluminium “front page on every newspaper”. 3. Glass - re-usable - reverse logistics and weight issues (but still we have 4 grades!! least its better than plastic running into hundreds! Market forces - says Cheap + light = profit / plastic costs I feel most councils will move eventually to a mixed plastic collection service and convert the material to energy – BUT my biggest grip is microwave meals in black microwave packs (usually never washed out and placed in the recycling plastics bags, I know not “us” but just needs 1 in a 100 not to and can contaminate a process. Black as a colour currently cannot be recognised by using IR that ALL sorting systems use so what a crap idea – I know lets start a campaign to have ALL microwave meals in ALUMINIUM CONTAINERS. It will force the householder to put the meal on a microwave dish first, then wash out the tray and recycle – material is worth £500/MT – I recon you can crush them and send in the post and make money – just needs lots and lots and lots of people to do it – why would they unless it was for a positive reason “beyond recycling” -
So lets summarise what I recon we can all do that WILL make a difference.

1. Help me lobby the Supermarkets to take up the cause – I recon it will reduce the carbon footprint BUT DOES IT? Any clever boffins/economists out there? --- Let the fight begin.
2. Anyone from the Women’s institute here????


Just thinking of a way to help cut carbon – please sign up to www.1010UK.org - If more than 100 say you will sign up I will not rant anymore 

[fansup]

Going back to the original question on Are there enough recycling facilities in your town/city here is my answer
Under Horsham District council we has an excellent recycling system as a result it makes myself and my family more aware and regular recyclers.
We have a weekly household collection in a normal wheelie been, then every other week either plastics in a basket is collected or paper in a basket and green “gardening or browns” waste in its own Brown wheelie bin.

We don’t do the paper waste as we do not really buy newspapers, however there are paper recycling points in the two local car parks, plus glass collections point and then also clothes and shoes come to think of it.
Our plastics baskets is full every two weeks, we use both baskets.
In the near future Horsham District council will be replacing the plastic baskets with a new blue bin for plastics and paper, which is great in a way, but where do some people put all these bins!
We have a three bed semi and I think we can just about squeeze the three bins in by the front door as a result I will have to remove a small bush to accommodate this.
Also within 10 miles from where I live I have three recycling centres for those things we cannot put into the bins (ie soil, hardcore, furniture, electrical waste, tyres, oil, gardening waste) these are managed by under two different District councils

For more information on my local waste collection see http://www.horsham.gov.uk/council_services/council_services_807.asp

[skeeter]

Hi all. I am new too.

I've read this with real interest. My opinion for what it is worth...

Is that plastics are cheap...cheap...Planned obsolesence. Good for the manufacturer..they can keep producing. Ever take your Plastic Milk Bottle back to the supermarket? No. Ever been asked? No. So, what was wrong with the milk man? Greed. Profit over doing the right thing. I can imagine someone saying "if we can get the supermarkets to use our plastics then we are in". Lack of regulation. You can look at any industry. It is the same more or less.

The cheaper they make things the more people buy. I would rather prices went up and represented the true cost. Plastics in my view have de-skilled and dumbed down a lot of the population. The hype and lies even end-up on the actual packaging too. Quality stamps for food? Nothing more than sponsorships. When I go into a supermarket all I see is "litter" everywhere.

I have started a thread called "B2B's - Service Providers". I am interested in talking to small businesses in the supply chain that are doing the right thing. I would like to wave your flag a little.

[bespokeboxes]

This is the main problem that we are not aware of place to dumb the recyclable waste. Only what we are doing is, trusts our administration to separate all the waste accordingly.

[The totter]

Dawg I think the term your looking for is totters, rather than scavengers. Totters rights still exists but today their known as Recycling Contractors. However as you point out Health & Safety have spoiled true (Monging) which is a term for someone who gets in the bins & sifts through the waste. How often have you been to your local tip and see someone throw away something that could be re-used or refurbished to hear the site attendant (normally a temp from an agency) tell the person just to throw in general waste, where it promptly gets broken or lost. Only on a few sites now do they have totters, albeit they are not allowed in the bins.