Time To Praise The Council...
In the final death throws of the Borough Council's life before being dissolved, it has tried and I think succeeded in meeting it's commitment to recycling via the European Directive and should hopefully avoid having to pay large fines for using land fill sites. Of course it can only be as good as the populations willingness to sort through their rubbish and take part in the scheme. If they will, I think they've got it about right.
Everyone is being asked to recycle or reduce as much as possible how much rubbish is put into landfill sites which are running out but there is a danger of contamination of land and water over the years.
However, much as I do not go along with all that is being put around by pressure groups and the media regarding Global Warming, I concede it's good to try and save the Earth's resources.
I believe that the world's climate goes through natural cycles, it always has and always will. Until the planet Earth is no more.
So in recent years we have had a number of collection points to take recycled rubbish such as glass bottles, paper, large house hold goods, cardboard etc...which is fine if you have access to your own transport and are physically fit to travel to such sites but again as they are also trying to reduce how much you use your own transport that can defeat the idea.
So for a number of years we've been given one crate per household, for newspapers, glass and cans. Other areas have allowed other items to be recycled which could've reduced our waste still further. But eventually a pilot scheme was tried out and it's been officially introduced and we get our first chance to use the service on April 10th.
Well, today we've possibly finally managed to get to the point where very little will be thrown into the normal wheelie bin and though it involves more work for us to do, if kept on top of and thrown out as something is finished, I can see the wheelie bin only being put out every couple of weeks if that(even though our council insists it will still collect that every week)we throw very little out in the way of food waste as it is and any unused fruit is given to the birds or wildlife.
Recycled rubbish is only collected fortnightly.
The crate is now to only be used only for glass and cans...
We've been given what looks like a big green reusable weatherproof rucksack that is weighted to avoid it blowing away and in the sack we can put all plastic bottles including milk, washing up and laundry liquids, shampoo, cooking oil and baby care, Yogurt pots, Margarine/butter tubs, Carrier bags, Plastic film, wrapping, Bubble wrap, ready meal food trays.
I can throw away cardboard such as cereal boxes, greetings cards, Toilet and kitchen roll tubes, cardboard packaging, corrugated packaging, pizza boxes, tissue boxes, juice cartons.
The sack is where newspaper and magazines will be put, but now the following can be added, computer and office paper, telephone directories and yellow pages, catalogues, junk mail, brochures and flyer's, books and manuals, envelopes, wrapping paper.
We can put out extra items if in carrier bags and /or in clear bags that you can see what's inside and here's another added bonus that many areas around the UK have refused to do for too long...you can throw away shredded paper if placed in a carrier and then put in the sack.
So all in all I give this new idea...a big thumbs up. And I am willing to do my little bit to help the environment. It's taken time but seemingly in the end it's come good.
If we wish we can order at no extra cost, more sacks and crates.
A couple of concerns is that our sacks could get mixed up with neighbours so I have tried to attach some kind of label with our house address on it and a few years ago I did read that much of the waste collected by contractors around the UK cannot be handled locally and therefore it ends up being transported by lots of vehicles taking it around the UK via the motorways etc...to complete the recycling process still further so adding to the problem perhaps in other ways so the infra structure is not totally in place. My memory is too vague but it's at the back of the mind.
Therefore, though on a local collection level the scheme is fine but more investment is required within the system here and in all other parts of the UK regardless of whoever has been awarded the contracts.
It is sometimes too easy to criticise just because you can. And it is early days. I'm sure things will continue to improve.
But well done Sedgefield Borough Council.
Recycling In Germany
Update:First collection took place and it could not have gone more smoothly. If it continues as easily, the new scheme will be a doddle. The sack and crate are reasonably easy to get to the kerbside(the sack having two carrier type handles)and should the wheelie bin be put out at the same time, there is a way you can take them all out together and the wheelie bin takes the weight. Especially, good if your property is not quite next to road and mobility is a problem.
Everyone is being asked to recycle or reduce as much as possible how much rubbish is put into landfill sites which are running out but there is a danger of contamination of land and water over the years.
However, much as I do not go along with all that is being put around by pressure groups and the media regarding Global Warming, I concede it's good to try and save the Earth's resources.
I believe that the world's climate goes through natural cycles, it always has and always will. Until the planet Earth is no more.
So in recent years we have had a number of collection points to take recycled rubbish such as glass bottles, paper, large house hold goods, cardboard etc...which is fine if you have access to your own transport and are physically fit to travel to such sites but again as they are also trying to reduce how much you use your own transport that can defeat the idea.
So for a number of years we've been given one crate per household, for newspapers, glass and cans. Other areas have allowed other items to be recycled which could've reduced our waste still further. But eventually a pilot scheme was tried out and it's been officially introduced and we get our first chance to use the service on April 10th.
Well, today we've possibly finally managed to get to the point where very little will be thrown into the normal wheelie bin and though it involves more work for us to do, if kept on top of and thrown out as something is finished, I can see the wheelie bin only being put out every couple of weeks if that(even though our council insists it will still collect that every week)we throw very little out in the way of food waste as it is and any unused fruit is given to the birds or wildlife.
Recycled rubbish is only collected fortnightly.
The crate is now to only be used only for glass and cans...
We've been given what looks like a big green reusable weatherproof rucksack that is weighted to avoid it blowing away and in the sack we can put all plastic bottles including milk, washing up and laundry liquids, shampoo, cooking oil and baby care, Yogurt pots, Margarine/butter tubs, Carrier bags, Plastic film, wrapping, Bubble wrap, ready meal food trays.
I can throw away cardboard such as cereal boxes, greetings cards, Toilet and kitchen roll tubes, cardboard packaging, corrugated packaging, pizza boxes, tissue boxes, juice cartons.
The sack is where newspaper and magazines will be put, but now the following can be added, computer and office paper, telephone directories and yellow pages, catalogues, junk mail, brochures and flyer's, books and manuals, envelopes, wrapping paper.
We can put out extra items if in carrier bags and /or in clear bags that you can see what's inside and here's another added bonus that many areas around the UK have refused to do for too long...you can throw away shredded paper if placed in a carrier and then put in the sack.
So all in all I give this new idea...a big thumbs up. And I am willing to do my little bit to help the environment. It's taken time but seemingly in the end it's come good.
If we wish we can order at no extra cost, more sacks and crates.
A couple of concerns is that our sacks could get mixed up with neighbours so I have tried to attach some kind of label with our house address on it and a few years ago I did read that much of the waste collected by contractors around the UK cannot be handled locally and therefore it ends up being transported by lots of vehicles taking it around the UK via the motorways etc...to complete the recycling process still further so adding to the problem perhaps in other ways so the infra structure is not totally in place. My memory is too vague but it's at the back of the mind.
Therefore, though on a local collection level the scheme is fine but more investment is required within the system here and in all other parts of the UK regardless of whoever has been awarded the contracts.
It is sometimes too easy to criticise just because you can. And it is early days. I'm sure things will continue to improve.
But well done Sedgefield Borough Council.
Recycling In Germany
Update:First collection took place and it could not have gone more smoothly. If it continues as easily, the new scheme will be a doddle. The sack and crate are reasonably easy to get to the kerbside(the sack having two carrier type handles)and should the wheelie bin be put out at the same time, there is a way you can take them all out together and the wheelie bin takes the weight. Especially, good if your property is not quite next to road and mobility is a problem.
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 1:13 am
2 Comments:
Well done indeed although your faith in their continuing weekly pick-ups for the wheelie bins could be short-lived...yes, I'm a cynic!
Where my family live you need a car to do any 'real' recycling and then it's often under thrrat of Gestapo inspection if you actually have any 'non-recyclable' rubbish. That said the range is incredible - in no particular order: shoes, clothes, glasses (spectacles), oil, metal, tin cans, plastic milk etc) bottles, cartons (tetra pack), cardboard, paper, green waste, glass, plastic bags (bin-liners etc)...all in all you can shift most stuff. Foodleftovers/organic waste in little brown bins is about all they collect from people's houses.
We already put so little out in our wheelie bin that often thoughthey collect it weekly(we often can wait two or three weeks)before putting it out and with all this extra recycling, like you I can see the weekly collection becoming a thing of the past.
It will not save any council tax charges but might stop them bringing in fines or charges for putting too many refuse bags out or spying/weighing what is thrown out.
Only once, did things go wrong last summer where I opened the bin and found maggots! Not before or since. I make certain that the bin is lined, throw some disinfectant in to freshen it up and make certain that any bag with food in it is sealed.
As for the items you mention such as getting rid of clothes, shoes and the like...that could be the only problem I'd have with a lack of transport to get rid of.
Then again, there are charity shops(too many in my town)and I'm afraid, what I have usually lasts me years and years.
In some ways I like the large rugsack better than the crates and wheelie bin and its quite easy just dropping the rubbish into it and leaving it in the kitchen like a peddle bin and there's no food in it so no health issues.
I think though crates of different colours are a simple solution having a line up of two or three can be a nuisance especially if you have few places to store them. As many homes around here have to leave them outside at the front of their homes or have to bring them into the house via a hall.
We're lucky in that we have a passage that runs alongside our property with doors we can lock on either end leading into the back garden or the front of the house.
So they are not seen or likely to get vandalised or stolen.
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