Recycling, Are we wasting our time?

[R1Geezer]

Fines, contaminated bin stickers, and the stuff is now ending up in landfill anyway! Now as an avid recycler, yep I got all the bins, not a yellow sticker in sight! Am I wasting my time here? As a general principle, recycling is good and needed, so what's gone wrong? According to the news the price has fallen for varous materials but surely just flog it for what you can get must be better than landfill. Anyone got a better understanding of what's occurring?

[DrFilth]

nearly 13 million tons of recyclable waste were shipped abroad last year., so the waste ships would generate huge levels of carbon emissions. so it would seem to be a waste of time trying to save on landfill . but rules are rules and we have to cut down on landfill.




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[Davethedog]

As a concept recyclings fine and something I agree with 100%.

As practised by the councils of England its huge con as follows:

1) You pay council tax - which pays for refuse collection.

2) You now have to do your own recycling. So its your labour to do a job that you have paid for.

3) If you don't recycle you face a fine, that is you face a fine for not doing a job that you have paid for in your council tax.

4) The stuff that is recycled is sold, therefore you have paid for a job, that you have done, had your labour exploited and will not get anything back.

5) Now that the market has fallen councils don't want to do it anymore. No oe less profit.

6) Some councils now run fortnightly collections, so you are paying for a job, that you are doing, being exploited for it and the council now do 50% work less than they used to.

7) I had maggots on my bin. In my entire life I have NEVER had maggots so I now conclude that this policy is a hazard to health.

It is sold as environmental but it isn't and never was its all about profit and we are the fall guys. Now theres no profit you are right it should be sold and used, but landfill is cheaper.

EVER GET THE FEELING YOU'VE BEEN CHEATED? (Johnny rotten)

[Booldawg]

It comes down to a fact of too many people per square mile equating to too much rubbish and not enough landfill space.

I dont think the government really gives a hoot about recycling and cutting down carbon emissions otherwise it would be pushing for affordable and accessible public transport, more freight moved by rail rather than lorries and coming down heavy on industry to cut waste etc.

[jonukas]

There's something else that I don't think anyone has mentioned, we now have 3 or 4 heavy lorries, plus their crews, coming down our streets (more carbon emissions), whereas before, we only had 1 lorry & 1 crew.

[New Judge]

The entire business is badly conceived, badly organised, badly managed (as are most things that are run by local authorities) and it does not achieve its stated aims. In fact, as has been mentioned, some aspects of so-called �recycling� actually add to the very problems it is supposed to address.

About eighteen months ago I said, via this site, that large quantities of glass �cullet� were being dumped in landfill. I knew it for a fact as I have contacts in the glass industry. I was howled down and, because I could not be bothered to find and publish the facts to sceptical AB-ers, was virtually called a liar.

Now it seems I was right all along. No doubt the doubters will be hastily forthcoming with their apologies.

Mankind is a dirty animal and the sooner that is accepted the better.

[123everton]

I agree with Dave the most, recycling is nothing new, the rag and bone man used to take it for free and give you a balloon.
You used to get money back on bottles of Coke too.
A new solution would be to scrap community punishments in their current form, put all your rubbish in one bin and have the petty criminals sort it all out.

[terambulan]

You are wasting your time as it all ends up in landfill sites. Some Councils have built incinerators as LF sites are filling up.

[rov1200]

With a continual diminishing coastline with villages being overrun by the sea why not dig some large holes closeby, shore up the coast with this earth and fill up the holes with landfill.

Can't be done? In our area this is already being done but instead of removing earth they are removing ballast.

[ruby27]

I don't think so.

Like you I totally agree with the notion of recyling, but probably there are examples where the process is not as efficient/cost efective as it could be. But, just because a system isn't perfect because of the human element, I don't think that is sufficient reason not to bother at all.

I would suspect that the failures/problems get far greater news coverage than does any of the successful endeavours