Local Tip

[Caran]

Today I did our recycling at the local tip. There was no clear or brown skip for bottles, instead there was a notice saying "In the absence of brown and clear skips please put all colours in the green skip" so I did, but as I did it a refuse worker came by and I said this feels totally wrong. He replied it isn't because at the end of the day all three different coloured skips are mixed up together. Now I have religiously separated all my different coloured glasses ever since it started. I asked why do we normally have to use different skips then. He replied its a PC thing to make you feel better. He also said if you have paper and cardboard you can mix those too. This has made me think is all this recycling worth doing if this is what really happens?

[vulcan42]

My recycling bin takes everything, glass, paper, cardboard,cans, they are sorted at the council depot.

[B00]

Outside my work we have three bottle banks for the 3 different coloured bottles, each week a refuse wagon comes along and tips all 3 onto the back of the wagon.

[Caran]

We have always gone to the tip and recycled our own and always done it correctly until today. Why have three separate skips for different colours though?

[B00]

"He replied its a PC thing to make you feel better. "

;-)

[EDDIE51]

I work in a commercial kitchen, we have to separate waste into , paper and card board, plastic, metal , and 'non recyclable' but when the lorry comes to pick it up it all gets loaded into the same lorry.
The only stuff that stays separate is 'food waste' and 'waste oil' we are told food waste go's to make animal feed and waste oil gets turned into diesel fuel.

[trt]

##Why have three separate skips for different colours though?##

I suppose to kid people who are like you and me Caran. and keep residents from complaining to the council!

[vulcan42]

Coincidentely, just last week I wrote to my council questioning this very thing. If I go to the local recycling centre I have to sort everything, yet, as I said, my recycling bin, which is collected fortnightly, takes everything the Council recycles. If I get a reply I'll let you know.

[Caran]

His remark certainly didn't make me feel better. It made me angry at the councils attitude to us all.

[EDDIE51]

Clear glass is ground down and reused as part of the 'melt' for new glass , as it is clear it can be used for any type or colour of new glass so it is more valuable.
Brown, green or other coloured glass can only be used to make new glass of the same colour so it has a lower value.

[Caran]

The chappie told me it is all ground down to repair and make roads

[ELVIS68]

We had seperate small boxes for glass, plastics and paper up until last week when they gave us another wheelie bin and said put everything in that.
So now we have one for rubbish, one for glass, plastics and paper and one for grass cuttings and food.

Next they'll just give everyone a skip!

[tonyav]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R8YObQbE88

[boxtops]

every council has different requirements, it seems - we have all recycled materials except paper and cardboard in one bin, paper and cardboard in another!

[Jeza]

In the I took several half pots of paint to the tip. There was no obvious place for them so I asked. 'We don't take paint he said 'So what do I do with them I asked. He shrugged his shoulders. So what do I do with them?

[Caran]

Put them in a bin bag in your general rubbish?

[Jeza]

May have to Caran, but I thought the idea was to re-cycle and move away from landfill.

[ELVIS68]

Jeza!!!!!

You don't throw away half pots of paint, they are to be stored in the garage along with the collection of small off cuts of wood to stir them with

[EDDIE51]

Our 'tip' has a container for paint waste.

[Jeza]

Elvis, they have been in the garage for up to 10 years. Will they not have a crust on them by now. As for the wood off cuts Mic took my wooden spoons and spatulas to stir with.

[vulcan42]

As boxtops says,each council deals with recycling in different ways.We have special containers for paint, cooking oil, engine oil,computer equipment,white goods etc.They also have two containers for bulbs, one for ordinary and one for florescent. They seem to have most things accounted for, whether everything is dealt with properly is another matter.