Nine-bin recycling system introduced

[Dai]

Originally Posted by Spectato

I'm sure I read somewhere that waste disposal actually became profitable for councils, after compulsory recycling had been introduced.

These 'systems' certainly aren't developed for our convenience.

Indeed they are not. And there is a school of thought that disputes if they are even necessary.

http://raedwald.blogspot.com/2008/06...ill-in-uk.html

[Tezcatlipoca]

In Cambridge, our no. of recycling bins has actually *decreased* recently, making it simpler.

We used to have:

Green Bin - cardboard & food waste etc.

Blue Box - plastic bottles

Black Box - paper, tins, glass, etc.

Black Bin - everything else, which isn't recycled



The new system uses a Blue Bin (combination of Black Box & Blue Box), Green Bin, & Black Bin.

We have a two week system here ;

Week 1

(Tuesday) - Black top wheelie bin (general waste)
(Every other Tuesday) - green bag[s] (glass bottles)


Week 2

(Tuesday) - Green top wheelie bin (plastic & paper)
(Wednesday) - Brown top wheelie bin (garden waste)


Becuase we are a household of 5, we actually get a second half size wheelie bin (yellow top) for the general waste, which goes out with the main one. We also actually have two bottle bags.

So 3.5 wheelie bins, and two glass bags.

[tweetiepooh]

We just have 2 bins, both large. Grey for general waste, Green for recycles (plus a reusable back for compostables.

We can't put glass in recycling but there are lots of bins for glass in supermarket car parks. And no soil or bulk waste like that in garden bag.

Bins are collected on a 2 weekly cycle, green one week, grey the next. Garden stuff picked up with the green. Seems to work pretty well.

[danielf]

Funny how the systems vary so much.

Round here we have a green large wheelie bin for garden waste. Black bin for for general rubbish. Both get collected forthnightly. On 'green bin days' the recyclables also get collected. We get a box for cans, tins, glass and plastic. The box is way too small for two weeks worth of drink, so we got another box which gets emptied as well. We don't separate glass tins and plastic. I guess the recycling center does this.

Paper goes in a blue bag, and cardboard is just put on the curb and is collected separately.

There's no separate collection of food waste (thank god), this goes into general rubbish.

Altogether, we have two large bins, one small one (plus the backup), and a bag for paper.

[frogstamper]

Brighton is hopeless for recycling, all we get at my house is a black box for old newspapers.
I'd welcome a bin for garden refuse instead of having bonfires, and/or one for glass and plastics.
I certainly wouldn't want one for food waste though.

[injuneer]

Originally Posted by Product 13

This just shows how much the majority of us are living beyond our means. Remember when all we had to dispose of our rubbish was one small tin bin and a coal fire?

Those were the days, we had a family of 4 & I don't think we ever filled the old galvanised bin to the top & it wasn't a large bin. It's all the damn packaging everything comes with now that fills it up.

Quite easy to sort ours, We have a green box for glass/Plastic bottles & cans. A Blue box for paper/Cardboard/Textiles. A wheely bin for the landfill. & large sacks for green waste (no extra charge for collecting that). Recycling & green waste collected every 2 weeks, general waste is weekly. I suppose when oil becomes too expensive plastic goods will decline as well?

The emphasis is all wrong, industry shouldn't be producing all this carp in the first place but supermarkets say it's what their customers want. Still our children might enjoy clearing up all the toxic ***** we leave behind for them.

[Dai]

Originally Posted by injuneer

The emphasis is all wrong, industry shouldn't be producing all this carp in the first place but supermarkets say it's what their customers want. Still our children might enjoy clearing up all the toxic ***** we leave behind for them.

That's total bull. The packaging is to make things easier to handle and scan for the supermarkets and to add the visual incentives to choose a particular product. It's all marketing and convenience for them, designed only to improve their bottom line profitability.

[Pia]

We don't have any wheelie bins here. I have to drag the bin bags down the road which is only about 5 houses away but does my head in.

They gave us a little green box years ago but i've never seen anyone use them, think we're supposed to put paper and glass in them.

[Dai]

Originally Posted by Pia

We don't have any wheelie bins here. I have to drag the bin bags down the road which is only about 5 houses away but does my head in.

They gave us a little green box years ago but i've never seen anyone use them, think we're supposed to put paper and glass in them.

Hmmm. I may have to change my bias about Darlington. It sounds almost civilised..

[Angua]

We are due to get the food waste collection system soon. With everyone getting garden waste collection for free (up to now you could stick bags out for free or pay £30 pa for a green bin to be collected fortnightly but not in the winter).

Problem is, the most polluting waste is food waste which as it decomposes in landfill creates methane. However the residual waste & recyclables are what fills the holes in the ground the quickest. Just wish we had all wheely bins rather than the stupid recycling boxes with the useless lids.

Anyone who has to sort their waste should check what the bin men actually do when they collect recycling. Ours only separate the glass, the rest gets jumbled together.

[Dai]

Originally Posted by Angua

Problem is, the most polluting waste is food waste which as it decomposes in landfill creates methane.

But methane is an energy source..

Bung it in landfill, collect the gas and burn it to produce electricity..

Voila, instant result.. All green and friendly..

[injuneer]

If you go to a landfill they just flare off the Methane, what a waste.
Actually things decompose much quicker in the presence of Oxygen & UV light but then you'd need to spread it around in the open, a bit like we do in the streets of the UK.

Originally Posted by DaiNasty

Indeed they are not. And there is a school of thought that disputes if they are even necessary.

http://raedwald.blogspot.com/2008/06...ill-in-uk.html

Interesting read.Thanks.

[jonbxx]

We have four bins and will soon be five; big green bin for general waste, HUGE brown bin for garden and food waste plus cardboard (this gets turned into soil improver) a box for papers, a box for glass and a box for cans and plastic bottles. We're getting a plastic waste bin as well soon for all plastic except for raw meat containers.

The general waste is emptied each week while the huge brown bin and the boxes are emptied on alternate weeks.

To be honest, it's not really much of a faff sorting out the rubbish and the reduction of rubbish in the general waste bin shows how much could have been recycled in the past