Shriya Nevatia
FremenRecycling; care harder please!!
October 10th 2006 06:16
I like to think of recycling as one of the easiest ways to "make a difference" to help “save the planet” and with the free council recycling service I would have thought others in the community would see it the same way.
So, why then, is it so hard to sort true recyclables into the wheelie bins?
Examples of "non-thinkers";
• My flatmate seems to think that the plastic wrap that covers a 6 pack of beer goes in the recycle bin while the empty stubbies go in the rubbish!! (And the bottle tops belong scattered around the house… but that’s another story!)
• My neighbours also have great difficulty in discerning actual recyclables from ordinary rubbish; just the other day I found a rejected running shoe at the top of a pile of plastic bag-wrapped refuse (plastic bags are also a no-no in council bins, by the way) – please tell me, what could possibly be done with an old shoe to remake its frayed material into something of use once again?
The 3 Rs (No, not Reading ‘Riting’ and ‘Rithmatic’- whoever came up with that anyway??!!), the rules of decreasing landfill and, consequently, the stresses on our planet are:
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Obviously the aforementioned delusional one shod soul thought someone at the council could reuse his shoe sole... Or maybe he just didn’t think at all. The latter, unfortunately, is invariably the more likely option…
What it comes down to is the sorry truth: that we're increasingly becoming a nation populated by “non-thinkers”. Are we (I use this term loosely – wary to lump myself into this inconsiderate group) that preoccupied with ourselves to spare a second to sort out our planet?
Please see the lid of your recycle bin or your local council’s website for a list of recyclable items – generally materials like glass, aluminium and hard plastic are good to go. Newspapers are also accepted in some areas.
Please do your best to resist the temptation to try to recycle old shoes, soft plastic, spaghetti and other food scraps, vacuum cleaner dust (?!) etc.
(Please remember - no plastic bags!!!)
ARE YOU A NON-THINKER?
Examples of "non-thinkers";
• My flatmate seems to think that the plastic wrap that covers a 6 pack of beer goes in the recycle bin while the empty stubbies go in the rubbish!! (And the bottle tops belong scattered around the house… but that’s another story!)
• My neighbours also have great difficulty in discerning actual recyclables from ordinary rubbish; just the other day I found a rejected running shoe at the top of a pile of plastic bag-wrapped refuse (plastic bags are also a no-no in council bins, by the way) – please tell me, what could possibly be done with an old shoe to remake its frayed material into something of use once again?
The 3 Rs (No, not Reading ‘Riting’ and ‘Rithmatic’- whoever came up with that anyway??!!), the rules of decreasing landfill and, consequently, the stresses on our planet are:
How much of this was recyclable?
Obviously the aforementioned delusional one shod soul thought someone at the council could reuse his shoe sole... Or maybe he just didn’t think at all. The latter, unfortunately, is invariably the more likely option…
What it comes down to is the sorry truth: that we're increasingly becoming a nation populated by “non-thinkers”. Are we (I use this term loosely – wary to lump myself into this inconsiderate group) that preoccupied with ourselves to spare a second to sort out our planet?
Does anyone recognise this symbol??
Please do your best to resist the temptation to try to recycle old shoes, soft plastic, spaghetti and other food scraps, vacuum cleaner dust (?!) etc.
(Please remember - no plastic bags!!!)
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Comment by Charlie
Comment by pammy
Comment by Georgina Calvi
All Things Sustainable
One other thing, all your recycled materials need to be rinsed out of food scraps before you put them in the bin, otherwise most of the stuff ends up as land waste... I usually just save the stuff up for the end of my dish washing and give everything a quick scrub....
Once you get used to doing these sorts of things, it becomes second nature and you can't imagine acting any other way.
It is definitely a non-thinking attitude, but there are loads of reasons why people behave in a non thinking way that need to be addressed. That way the easier more convenient closed minded actions become less attractive as individuals have the time and energy to think about things other than their own lives and engage more with other people.
But they're just my thoughts...
Comment by Georgina Calvi
All Things Sustainable
One other thing, all your recycled materials need to be rinsed out of food scraps before you put them in the bin, otherwise most of the stuff ends up as land waste... I usually just save the stuff up for the end of my dish washing and give everything a quick scrub....
Once you get used to doing these sorts of things, it becomes second nature and you can't imagine acting any other way.
It is definitely a non-thinking attitude, but there are loads of reasons why people behave in a non thinking way that need to be addressed. That way the easier more convenient closed minded actions become less attractive as individuals have the time and energy to think about things other than their own lives and engage more with other people.
But they're just my thoughts...
Comment by jazzman
Jazzman Tales
Jazzman's Tales part 3
Keep trying we will not win but there are plenty people on side and we all have been educated.
jazzman
Comment by Nathan 1
To be fair the government have made it easier to recycle, in Britian anyway, as they supply you with one bin for recylables and one for rubbish. You don't have to take anything to the bottle/paper banks anymore, so there's really no excuse.
Nathan