Recycling dreams

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Recycling dreams
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alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 04 8:18 pm Post subject: Recycling dreams
If councils money was no object what recycling schemes would you like to see set up nationally.

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28251
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 04 9:17 pm Post subject: Re: Recycling dreams

alison wrote:

If councils money was no object what recycling schemes would you like to see set up nationally.

A simple box scheme, collected weekly, so you could divide up the trash.

Swindon make things a pain by collecting paper biweekly, it may not seem like much of an effort to keep track, but it is this sort of thing that makes people not bother. We always do stash the paper in the box, but we don't accumilate much and end up forgetting which week we are meant to put the box at the end of the drive.

If the council when the whole hog and gave each household a wheelie bin thing with several compartments, and did collect weekly, I think it would work wonders.

jema

mrutty

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1578

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 04 9:22 pm Post subject:
I put out one black box of paper and card, two cardboard boxes full of the stuff and a bin bag. Can labels, junk mail (with the plastic window removed), etc all go here Swindon is bring in plastic recycling which I think is possibly the best to do. Most of the other will rot or rust in the ground given enough time, but plastic!!!!

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 04 9:44 pm Post subject:
Our lot collect paper, clothes, shoes, tins, bottles and most plastics. Batteries are my main wish - we don't use many, but the cumulative amount going to landfill is horrendous.

alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 04 9:51 pm Post subject:
I have read about schemes in the States where 2 or 4 times a year there is a kerbside day, where anything and everything is put out for a week, and anyone can collect it free, then at the end of the week the council arrange collection of all of it. The way I have heard it told, there isn't much left.

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 04 9:54 pm Post subject:
We've got rid of a lot of stuff over the years by leaving it at the end of the drive with a notice saying 'Help yourself to anything useful'.

alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 04 10:03 pm Post subject:
But technically Sean I am not sure you should. I like the idea of an organised week, where it is cool to drive around finding bits you need for free.

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 04 10:07 pm Post subject:
True. And that worked when we lived in a residential area of London, I'm not sure it would do much for you. Except scare off potential B&Bers.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 04 10:07 pm Post subject:

In spain, they have communal rubbish dumps (a bit like recylcing centres) where everyone puts their bin bags and other stuff they don't want - you help yourself, and the rest is collected.

I'd like to see plastic collected (not just bottles) I know some counties do this, but mine doesn't and most people use loads of it. We don't use masses, and I take it for recylcing myself, but there usually isn't room in the recycling bin for it anyway!

I wish paper was weekly too - as we use so much of it. I've registered with the MPS and started using both sides, and after christmas I'm getting a shredder so that it will become firelighters, compost or (and I live in hope here!) chicken bedding! Our solution is to leave everything out all the time - we walk past them at least daily, so it's not a lot of bother to take things further out, and then at least it goes.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 8:48 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

Batteries are my main wish

Me too. I kept hold of old batteries for years waiting for them to recycle. They seem the most obvious as they don't take much to collect and can contain very toxic chemical. In then end I had to bin them as I was told by our council that no one recycles them in this country.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 8:50 pm Post subject:

alison wrote:

I have read about schemes in the States where 2 or 4 times a year there is a kerbside day, where anything and everything is put out for a week, and anyone can collect it free, then at the end of the week the council arrange collection of all of it. The way I have heard it told, there isn't much left.

Lots of people put stuff out in Brighton. It can become a bit of a mess if it's not controlled though.

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 04 12:36 am Post subject:
This happens in Germany as well, but is very well controlled and works well.

deerstalker

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 589

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 04 12:44 am Post subject:
What about a pressure group then. Someone has to speak out!

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 04 12:49 am Post subject:
I can speak out, but I can;t see the people of England, especially around mya rea agreeing to this sort of thing. Some of them huffed and puffed when I put out my table with marmalade and sweet peas......... As I have said before, these ideas on this forum are preaching to the converted; it is how to get a wider audience interested that is the problem, as with a lot of things in life.

Mrs Fiddlesticks

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 04 9:44 am Post subject:
for me its not about recycling per se but not generating the rubbish in the 1st place! Our council is quite an enlightened one and collects weekly and gave away a free pack all about reducing junk mail, composting etc, it also let you send away for 2 free cotton shopping bags to reduce carrier bag usage, which I have.

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