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Recycling ........... hmmmmmm
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"I'm feeling a bit guilty.
I don't. But I guess it depends who you recycled  "
ooooo good idea!
I've put bottles and cans in my bin and I feel like i've done untold evil.
They are burning in my psyche more than the Jordache's patio did for them. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I'm feeling a bit guilty.
I wouldn't.
Truth is only around 5% of what goes into your recycling bin is actually recycled, it's a huge con.
Proof?"
I managed a waste company a few years ago and a friend still owns a waste management business.
He no longer does recycling runs because out of 12 loads a week (roughly 150 tons) only two or three were ever accepted at the recycling facility. Everything else was directed to either the nearest incinerator or the landfill.
This was down to the fact that the recycling facilities are running over capacity and cannot cope with the demand.
Yes,I know this isn't 'proof' as you'd probably want it but it's first hand, real world experience.
From what I understand the major waste management companies have exactly the same issues. |
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I'm feeling way less guilty after reading this.
I live in a one bedroom flat in an old tenement stair. My kitchen is the size of an average bathroom (my bathroom is a cupboard!) and there just isn't the space to recycle. I think if I felt strongly enough I'd make space but they have these massive black bins outside for food waste. They make me heave. The seagulls pick through the stuff there. The smell is vile and it doesn't get emptied often enough. No desire to add to that!  |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I'm feeling a bit guilty.
I wouldn't.
Truth is only around 5% of what goes into your recycling bin is actually recycled, it's a huge con."
Here we are uber keen on recycling. Most get recycled and reused. Last year the council recycling made nearly three hundred pounds profit. That's after paying wages and running costs . So it does work , we have to make it work  |
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Interesting, a quick scan of the press reveals that if you read a right-wing paper (Mail, Express Telegraph &c) you're less likely to 'believe' in recycling.
The complicating factor is the EU.
The EU Waste Framework Directive states that the UK must recycle 50% of household waste by 2020, which includes composting and reusing waste. It also demands a 70% minimum recycling target for construction and demolition waste by 2020.
So while UK's current rates of recycling are 43.5%, your suggestion leaves us with three possibilities:-
1/ The the UK and Eurostat are lying
2/ The recyclable waste is being burnt at a premium (set at £82.60 per tonne, set by the EU )
3/ Or possibly experience is anecdotal
Interesting.
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Interesting, a quick scan of the press reveals that if you read a right-wing paper (Mail, Express Telegraph &c) you're less likely to 'believe' in recycling.
The complicating factor is the EU.
The EU Waste Framework Directive states that the UK must recycle 50% of household waste by 2020, which includes composting and reusing waste. It also demands a 70% minimum recycling target for construction and demolition waste by 2020.
So while UK's current rates of recycling are 43.5%, your suggestion leaves us with three possibilities:-
1/ The the UK and Eurostat are lying
2/ The recyclable waste is being burnt at a premium (set at £82.60 per tonne, set by the EU )
3/ Or possibly experience is anecdotal
Interesting.
"
I don't read a ring wing newspaper (the other day you quoted me with a vague reference to a Nazi, is this a pattern?)
My experience is exactly that - my experience of the actual industry, not facts and figures that are easily fudged to suit. |
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"Interesting, a quick scan of the press reveals that if you read a right-wing paper (Mail, Express Telegraph &c) you're less likely to 'believe' in recycling.
The complicating factor is the EU.
The EU Waste Framework Directive states that the UK must recycle 50% of household waste by 2020, which includes composting and reusing waste. It also demands a 70% minimum recycling target for construction and demolition waste by 2020.
So while UK's current rates of recycling are 43.5%, your suggestion leaves us with three possibilities:-
1/ The the UK and Eurostat are lying
2/ The recyclable waste is being burnt at a premium (set at £82.60 per tonne, set by the EU )
3/ Or possibly experience is anecdotal
Interesting.
I don't read a ring wing newspaper (the other day you quoted me with a vague reference to a Nazi, is this a pattern?)
My experience is exactly that - my experience of the actual industry, not facts and figures that are easily fudged to suit."
I'm not having a go and I'm not calling you a Nazi??
I'm saying there is a discrepancy between the two, that it would be interesting to reconcile the difference, or even uncover the truth of the matter. |
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I miss living in Germany for the recycling.
Bottles plastic and glass would go back to the shop where you get a percentage of your money back usually 25cents.
Could recycle food waste , a lot more plastuc than over here.
One thing that is different from here in the uk is if you took general household waste to the dump you were charge unlike some dumps here.
I think there doing something right  |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Interesting, a quick scan of the press reveals that if you read a right-wing paper (Mail, Express Telegraph &c) you're less likely to 'believe' in recycling.
The complicating factor is the EU.
The EU Waste Framework Directive states that the UK must recycle 50% of household waste by 2020, which includes composting and reusing waste. It also demands a 70% minimum recycling target for construction and demolition waste by 2020.
So while UK's current rates of recycling are 43.5%, your suggestion leaves us with three possibilities:-
1/ The the UK and Eurostat are lying
2/ The recyclable waste is being burnt at a premium (set at £82.60 per tonne, set by the EU )
3/ Or possibly experience is anecdotal
Interesting.
I don't read a ring wing newspaper (the other day you quoted me with a vague reference to a Nazi, is this a pattern?)
My experience is exactly that - my experience of the actual industry, not facts and figures that are easily fudged to suit.
I'm not having a go and I'm not calling you a Nazi??
I'm saying there is a discrepancy between the two, that it would be interesting to reconcile the difference, or even uncover the truth of the matter. "
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Actually the truth lies somewhere in between.
We have some of the world's biggest recycling plants here in the UK, we separate huge amounts of waste but unfortunately there's also a lot of waste of the waste.
Plastics and the packaging industry need a good kick up the arse, they use way to many incompatible materials that get lumped in together as "plastic".
But unfortunately the way politics works today is the industry has more say and so you get them dominating how they want to do it, which is usually the cheapest, easiest and most profitable |
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By *ENGUYMan
over a year ago
Hull |
How is it that whilst the UK busts a gut to recycle everything possible to appease those in the EC headquarters, when in total contrast, other European countries just bung everything in general bins and don't appear to recycle anything!! |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"How is it that whilst the UK busts a gut to recycle everything possible to appease those in the EC headquarters, when in total contrast, other European countries just bung everything in general bins and don't appear to recycle anything!!"
Really.......are you sure?....are you sure you are sure....? really are you? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I've watched recycling trucks empty into the same incinerator hoppers as regular trash. I'm hugely cynical about the numbers claimed by our council."
I read an article about my boroughs recycling being shipped to China,leaving a huge carbon footprint. I try to buy stuff packaged in paper and keep fruit and veg loose instead of putting into a plastic bag. It's my little bit for the environment. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"How is it that whilst the UK busts a gut to recycle everything possible to appease those in the EC headquarters, when in total contrast, other European countries just bung everything in general bins and don't appear to recycle anything!!"
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You've obviously never been to Germany or Holland....
Or Belgium
Sweden
Norway
Austria
........ |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Taken from an article: In fact some material collected for recycling is sent to landfill because it is not appropriate for processing or shipped to China where it is used as a cheap fuel. Furthermore the waste that is recycled in the UK uses a huge amount of energy for transport and processing, which counteracts the environmental benefits of recycling.
I'm doubtful it has got any better since. It also said that 70% of recycling sent to China was returned as the quality wasn't good enough to be used as fuel. Isn't burning bad for the environment too? I heard that China has terrible air quality around factories. So,we get rid of our problem by handing it over to someone else. |
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"Taken from an article: In fact some material collected for recycling is sent to landfill because it is not appropriate for processing or shipped to China where it is used as a cheap fuel. Furthermore the waste that is recycled in the UK uses a huge amount of energy for transport and processing, which counteracts the environmental benefits of recycling.
I'm doubtful it has got any better since. It also said that 70% of recycling sent to China was returned as the quality wasn't good enough to be used as fuel. Isn't burning bad for the environment too? I heard that China has terrible air quality around factories. So,we get rid of our problem by handing it over to someone else. "
"It is said..."
But by whom?
You Google this issue and the first 4/5 pages are Mail/Express/Telegraph - all of which have a particular slant on the issue... |
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By *exxxesCouple
over a year ago
Newbury / London |
There are huge volumes of materials reprocessed in asia, whether many of us think so or not. Why? Because that's where a large proportion comes from, meaning, that's where the demand is.
UK have an imbalance of recycling capacity versus feedstock, but logically that makes sense. Say the UK recycled all the waste card into new card, who'd want the new card? It would be surplus, because the global demand for new packaging containers is at the point of manufacture, which like it or not is not the UK anymore. So if we did recycle it all, we'd end up having to ship the 'new' material abroad anyway where the demand for its use would be.
That said - if you have a recycling bin, use it |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Taken from an article: In fact some material collected for recycling is sent to landfill because it is not appropriate for processing or shipped to China where it is used as a cheap fuel. Furthermore the waste that is recycled in the UK uses a huge amount of energy for transport and processing, which counteracts the environmental benefits of recycling.
I'm doubtful it has got any better since. It also said that 70% of recycling sent to China was returned as the quality wasn't good enough to be used as fuel. Isn't burning bad for the environment too? I heard that China has terrible air quality around factories. So,we get rid of our problem by handing it over to someone else.
"It is said..."
But by whom?
You Google this issue and the first 4/5 pages are Mail/Express/Telegraph - all of which have a particular slant on the issue..."
I haven't looked into it,I just remembered I'd read something about it a few years ago. Do we ever get the truth about anything that is a Government incentive? Unless you can go undercover and see facts and figures yourself you will never know the truth. But,the truth is out there |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I'm feeling a bit guilty.
I wouldn't.
Truth is only around 5% of what goes into your recycling bin is actually recycled, it's a huge con."
I dont quite believe that since glass can pretty much be fully recycled. Similar story with newspapers and paper. Plastic is a different story but things are improving.
If it were true, isn't 5% better than 0%? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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In Germany I think it is they have recycling machines for plastic bottles that gives you money for every bottle you recycle. Like the old fizzy pop bottles from when I was a kid. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"In Germany I think it is they have recycling machines for plastic bottles that gives you money for every bottle you recycle. Like the old fizzy pop bottles from when I was a kid. "
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The uk has vastly improved its recycling but we are miles behind Germany, they just run their country better as a whole, and to be honest they moan a lot less about personal sacrifice when it's for the greater good!  |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"In Germany I think it is they have recycling machines for plastic bottles that gives you money for every bottle you recycle. Like the old fizzy pop bottles from when I was a kid. .
The uk has vastly improved its recycling but we are miles behind Germany, they just run their country better as a whole, and to be honest they moan a lot less about personal sacrifice when it's for the greater good! "
Its one of the things I love about Germany. In fact, much of Europe is like that. Our problem is we are told to recycle but as its been pointed out, it is all in vein, so we have good reason to moan. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"In Denmark you get money back on bottles etc "
You used to get that in the UK, there kinda phased it out when i was young, but it was a good incentive to give back the glass bottles. problem is that plastic is so cheap its not worth the hassle of collecting, washing, sterilising an refilling when it costs you pennies to make one plastic bottle. |
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I used to, until the collectors became such a pain in the arse with not emptying the bin because it had the wrong sort of plastic in it (cos i'm an expert in identifying it and keeping up with their ever changing rules )- yet they're too fucking lazy to move it to the normal bin sat next to it awaiting collection- so i just throw most stuff in general waste now as i really can't be bothered if they can't |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I live in Brighton, represented by the only Green MP, and recently a Green ran council, Brighton has one of the worst recycling records in the country. If one tin can, for example, is put in a plastic, or glass recycling container, the whole container is left , un emptied, and a stupid tape put on it saying 'oops you made a mistake'
Burn all of it, make electricity, and re-burn the chimney filters in the incinerator.
Germany averages 50% local authority electricity use, produced by burning the rubbish, with extreme filters on the chimneys, a win win situation.
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I live in Brighton, represented by the only Green MP, and recently a Green ran council, Brighton has one of the worst recycling records in the country. If one tin can, for example, is put in a plastic, or glass recycling container, the whole container is left , un emptied, and a stupid tape put on it saying 'oops you made a mistake'
Burn all of it, make electricity, and re-burn the chimney filters in the incinerator.
Germany averages 50% local authority electricity use, produced by burning the rubbish, with extreme filters on the chimneys, a win win situation.
"
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You can't filter out all by products and you certainly can't filter out c02 and it terms of sustainability it's pretty rubbish, Germany went down the solar route for electricity a few years back |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Perhaps Germany did look at solar as did the UK, but cannot produce the quantity of power to do the job. They are still using and building waste to energy plants, as is Norway, Sweden and the UK, if fact we are exporting waste to these countries to fuel their power plants. There is a big one in Böblingen, where a friend of mine works |
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"Perhaps Germany did look at solar as did the UK, but cannot produce the quantity of power to do the job. They are still using and building waste to energy plants, as is Norway, Sweden and the UK, if fact we are exporting waste to these countries to fuel their power plants. There is a big one in Böblingen, where a friend of mine works"
But UK does not get paid for the waste that is sent overseas. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Perhaps Germany did look at solar as did the UK, but cannot produce the quantity of power to do the job. They are still using and building waste to energy plants, as is Norway, Sweden and the UK, if fact we are exporting waste to these countries to fuel their power plants. There is a big one in Böblingen, where a friend of mine works
But UK does not get paid for the waste that is sent overseas. "
So saves us a fortune in landfill tax to the government, sounds like a win win to me. |
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"I'm feeling a bit guilty.
I wouldn't.
Truth is only around 5% of what goes into your recycling bin is actually recycled, it's a huge con."
What ever makes you think that? I am sure you are incorrect. |
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"Perhaps Germany did look at solar as did the UK, but cannot produce the quantity of power to do the job. They are still using and building waste to energy plants, as is Norway, Sweden and the UK, if fact we are exporting waste to these countries to fuel their power plants. There is a big one in Böblingen, where a friend of mine works
But UK does not get paid for the waste that is sent overseas.
So saves us a fortune in landfill tax to the government, sounds like a win win to me."
Not quite!
The UK company sending the waste overseas has to pay the energy plant that is burning the rubbish. And the UK company also has to pay the transportation costs....
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Perhaps Germany did look at solar as did the UK, but cannot produce the quantity of power to do the job. They are still using and building waste to energy plants, as is Norway, Sweden and the UK, if fact we are exporting waste to these countries to fuel their power plants. There is a big one in Böblingen, where a friend of mine works"
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Waste to energy plants don't burn waste as far as I'm aware, they turn some types of the waste into bio fuels or bio gas.
Germany has lead the electrical generation over recent years because they've decided to get rid of their nuclear plants!
The problem of recycling in this country remains problematic because we don't force manufacturers to use the right materials in the first place and in some cases we package things completely unnecessary of packaging |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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They effectively burn' the waste by heating it till it reverts to a gas and then burn it, same as a gassification bio mass incinerator, it still burns. When you see flames coming off a burning log, the flames are burning methanol gas, from the wood, if you heat wood with out introducing a flame it will make methanol gas, the Norwegians ran lorries on wood gas during the last war, had some sort of charcoal burner on the front of the truck to make the gas and then piped it to the engine. All these 'green' ideas are not new, just coming back into vogue at the moment! |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"They effectively burn' the waste by heating it till it reverts to a gas and then burn it, same as a gassification bio mass incinerator, it still burns. When you see flames coming off a burning log, the flames are burning methanol gas, from the wood, if you heat wood with out introducing a flame it will make methanol gas, the Norwegians ran lorries on wood gas during the last war, had some sort of charcoal burner on the front of the truck to make the gas and then piped it to the engine. All these 'green' ideas are not new, just coming back into vogue at the moment!"
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Never heard of that process to be honest with you, nearly all the biomethane production I've ever read about involves organic material broken down, I did read an article from California where they were turning biomethane into lpg for transport but I'll be honest I've never heard of burning general waste to Make it!.
Are you sure there burning general waste and not recycled organic waste! |
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