Member Advice on Recycling

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if we go on using the worlds resources the way we are then before long there will not be any left. It is very much of case of the three wise monkeys, see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.

The Three wise monkeys

See No Evil
How many of us just simply close our eyes to the fact that we are wasting the worlds resources at such a rate that soon we will have no ...
...be no new ones left to use. It is too easy to leave it to the next generation to ‘sort it out’, but by then we will be living on a post apocalyptic rubbish tip, scavenging what we can to make ends meet. Picture if you will the scenes of devastated cities like Berlin after WWII with emaciated civilians picking out scraps of food from piles of rubble that used to be their homes, or the sci-fi fantasies like MAD MAX where there are tribes ... more

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if we go on using the worlds resources the way we are then before long there will not be any left. It is very much of case of the three wise monkeys, see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.

The Three wise monkeys

See No Evil
How many of us just simply close our eyes to the fact that we are wasting the worlds resources at such a rate that soon we will have no choice to re-use and recycle our resources because there will be no new ones left to use. It is too easy to leave it to the next generation to ‘sort it out’, but by then we will be living on a post apocalyptic rubbish tip, scavenging what we can to make ends meet. Picture if you will the scenes of devastated cities like Berlin after WWII with emaciated civilians picking out scraps of food from piles of rubble that used to be their homes, or the sci-fi fantasies like MAD MAX where there are tribes of psychotic Punks, killing each other over precious resources like petrol or even water, because in 50-100 years or so if we don’t stop guzzling the worlds resources like spoiled children, you won’t have to imagine it, you or your ancestors will be living in it!

Hear No Evil
Even though the evidence is before our eyes we will not listen to the doomsayers that predict the apocalyptic prophecy that lies before us. By closing our ears to the TRUTH we are simply coming one step closer to the apocalypse that awaits us! Not through war, but by greed, careless behaviour and narrow-mindedness. THE END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH. Everyday on the news on television and radio we are reminded of the ecological plight that the planet is in and yet we would rather the silly man on the news would shut up because “Eastenders” is on in a minute and we don’t want to listen to that talk spoiling our evening.

Speak no Evil
By keeping quiet about it and not wanting to offend the neighbours, or being seen as eco-nutters, we invite our own destruction. It may be fine and well to ignore the fact that our civilization is on the brink of destruction, and talk about the weather instead, so as not to be the harbinger of doom, but consider this you can not even talk about the weather these days without referring to global warming, and the change in climate, all due to the effect civilization is having on the environment, and the natural disaster that result from it. It is well past the time that ordinary people stood up and be counted and speak the TRUTH, instead of hiding behind a tissue of false hope and the “macawberish” attitude that something will always turn up

Saving the worlds resources is not just a case of recycling; it is part of a bigger process the three r’s of waste management. REDUCE waste in the first place, REUSE what you can, AND RECYCLE. the rest.

CONSUMER SOCIETY -Spoiled babies
Unfortunately the consumer society is what seems to rule the lives of the majority of people today, which is good in some ways, as it is fun for those who can afford it, but if all you do is consume then who replaces it all? We are like a lot of spoiled babies who want a constant stream of new toys to play with and constant and insatiable excitement which can only be met with more and more consumer goods. We need to learn to be happier with less, and learn to share more of what there is.

PACKAGING- (wrap up nice)

Possibly one of the biggest wastage items of consumables and products is the packaging they come in. I bought a CD-ROM the other day and it came in a box 8 inches x 10 inches x 2 inches! What genius thought of that, all it contained was the standard size CD-ROM, and nothing else.

The EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste 94/62/EC, the so-called Packaging Directive, aims to establish producer responsibility for packaging and packaging waste. The directive was implemented in the UK through the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 and the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 1998. The former sets targets for the recovery and recycling of packaging wastes, whereas the latter specifies minimum design standards

This is all very well but it doesn’t seem to be having much of an effect, why is this disgraceful state of affairs being allowed to continue. It is simply a marketing ploy to be more visible on the shelf, and therefore promote more sales. It is short sighted and stupid and should be stopped. It is however indicative of many other products also.

BOTTLE BANKS- (what to do after a big party)

If you like a drop of the old vino, like I do, by all means, enjoy your tipple but have a care about what you do with the empties. For a start there must be a bottle bank on nearly every town centre car park these days. Take a few minutes to bag up your empties and take ‘em to the local bottle bank. You don’t know just how much YOU will be HELPING to help redress the waste/recycle balance. All you need to do is to sort the bottles into green, brown or clear glass and dump them in.

Glass can be recycled at glass banks all over the country.

Since 1977, the glass industry has been supporting the country's glass recycling infrastructure. The amount collected continues to increase and the industry continues to pay a higher price for recycled glass than for equivalent virgin raw materials.

Glass banks have always been colour separated. A small number are now being switched to mixed glass. It may not be possible for the industry to colour separate glass collected mixed from recycling banks, to get the maximum value and environmental benefit glass banks must remain colour separated.

Kerbside collection schemes make it easier and more convenient for the public to recycle their glass. In areas, which introduce kerbside, the glass-recycling rate usually doubles. Unfortunately while around 70% of LAs have kerbside collections of at least one material, only 34% or 7.3 million households in the UK have kerbside collections of glass. This needs to increase rapidly if we are to meet European glass recycling targets for 2008.

Glass collected at the kerbside is usually colour separated on the vehicle or is sold as mixed glass for colour separation or for use in alternative markets. Glass, which is collected co-mingled, is usually separated at an MRF (Materials Recycling Facility) but is generally suitable only for low value markets.

The recycling rate for glass in the UK in 2003 was 38% but if more were put into kerbside boxes more would be used to make new containers

So do your bit and bung some bottles in the bank.

NEWSPAPER –(Page three girls help to save the environment)

When you have finished your Times crossword, or finished gawping at the totties on page three (and providing you haven’t pasted them up on the wall) collect your used newspapers and take them to the newspaper recycling skip also located in many town centre car parks or big supermarkets.

Based upon wood, a natural renewable resource, newspaper is both biodegradable and recyclable. It is made up of many fibres that are interlaced and compacted in a web-like fashion.

Millions of tonnes of paper are produced each year. This is used for a wide variety of products and applications such as office paper, newspapers, envelopes, agricultural sacks, plasterboard and the packaging of all types of consumer, commercial and industrial goods.

Paper and packaging make up huge proportions of most municipal and commercial waste streams and therefore the paper industry is the UK's largest recycler.

However, almost 5 million tonnes of waste paper are still sent to landfill or incineration each year. This means that the industry has to import fibre to meet its needs, which does not make environmental or economic sense.

Material is collected through a variety of methods ranging from hand collection of sacks to large open top containers and compactor bins. Once collected, the material is taken to a recycling facility where it is cleaned, sorted into various grades and press packed into bale sizes that are acceptable to a mill (typically ½ or 1 tonne).

Don’t dump your newspaper in the landfill, put it in the paper bin.

LANDFILL-(Shovelling sh*t)

This is the most wasteful of all waste disposal schemes, and the most costly to the environment, at least in terms of domestic waste. If you can’t recycle then the last resort is for Landfill. The familiar site of seagulls flying over the local council tip is one familiar to us all. If I want to see seagulls I’ll go to the seaside thank you very much.

Solid household waste is recognised as a major threat to the environment, with high pollution potential. The average household in Britain generates 600 kg of waste per year (11.5 kg per week); the total waste generated nationally is 380 million tonnes per year! Each household produces on average each week:
In mixed (unseparated) compostable waste, including kitchen and garden refuse, there is also a diverse range of other materials, some of which are potentially hazardous. These hazardous substances include: decorating products (paints, stains, varnish, paint thinners), garden products (pesticides, fungicides, herbicides), vehicle products (engine oil, brake fluid, antifreeze, car batteries), household cleaners (bleach, disinfectant, air fresheners), toiletries (cosmetics, old medicines) and other miscellaneous items. Batteries from watches, radios, mobile phones, etc. may contain heavy metals like mercury, nickel, cadmium.

When such household waste in landfill sites is acted on by rainwater, the organic and inorganic constituents are dissolved, and a highly toxic leachate results, collecting at the base of the landfill. This is normally high in heavy metals, ammonia, toxic organic compounds and pathogens. It also has a high BOD, and if it escapes into the groundwater serious contamination results. Meanwhile, at the top of the landfill, gas is produced by the fermentation of organic material. Approximately equal quantities of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) are released. Both are greenhouse gases, but methane is 26 times more effective than carbon dioxide in this respect. In addition to leachate and biogas problems, landfill sites are very unpopular with local residents: traffic, smell, noise, vermin, seagulls, blown litter, and disease can all spoil the neighbourhood and lower property prices.

Landfill must therefore be a last option when considering waste disposal.

CAN RECYCLING-Have you been Tango’ed ?

If you have, and have had time to recover from the experience, here is what to do with the empty can.

Every year around 5 billion aluminium drink cans are sold in the UK, That's a lot of fizzy pop and beer! Every household in the UK consumes around 200 aluminium drink cans every year. Each one of these can be recycled back into new drink cans over and over again.

Recycling aluminium cans saves energy and natural resources, and also reduces the pressure on landfill sites - if all the aluminium cans sold were recycled there would be 14 million fewer dustbins emptied into landfill sites every year.

Aluminium cans are recycled in the UK by Alcan, which operates Europe's only dedicated aluminium beverage can recycling plant. Here cans are melted down and turned into ingots of aluminium which are used to make new cans. This is called closed loop recycling, because old cans go in and metal to make new cans comes out.

Aluminium cans are collected for recycling in a number of ways:
can banks - located at supermarkets and council recycling sites. These are emptied by waste management companies or your local council
kerbside recycling schemes - operated by your local council to make recycling at home as convenient as possible.
Cash for cans centres - where you can exchange empty aluminium cans for cash

Once collected the cans are delivered to one of Alcan's regional aggregation centres. Here the cans are checked to ensure they don't contain any steel, plastic, paper, dirt or excess liquid as these can disrupt the recycling process. They are then baled and transported to the Used Beverage Can Recycling Plant.

RECYCLING SCHEMES

Many local authorities have converted the old ‘tip’ style waste disposal and landfill sites into organised recycling sites. Make sure you sort your rubbish out before going to the tip and put each type of refuse into a different skip.

REMEMBER THE 3 R’s

REDUCE

Many people are concerned about the amount of packaging products are sold in and try to avoid goods that they consider are 'over-packaged'. An example of over-packaging is the use of standardised boxes. This can lead to void space in the package, which is both a wasteful use of resources and misleading for consumers. In Korea, over-packaging is being prevented through legislative standards for certain types of packaging. For example, processed foods can have no more than 15% of the volume of the package taken by void space, and no more than two layers enclosing the product.

Avoid buying small containers where possible. An example might be to purchase one large bottle of drink instead of individual small bottles or cans.

Don’t buy heavily packed goods
Buy 'loose' food rather than pre-packaged
Stop junk mail and faxes through the Mailing Preference Service
Cancel delivery of unwanted newspapers; donate old magazines to waiting rooms
Use your own shopping bags when visiting the supermarket or use the doorstep delivery service
Grow your own vegetables. Many varieties can be grown in small gardens
Use a nappy laundry service, and save disposable ones for holidays and long journeys
Take a packed lunch to work or school in a reusable plastic container

REUSE

The most direct way to recover packaging is by reusing it in its original form. However the environmental impacts of washing and transportation have to be taken into consideration. Reusable packaging has to be sturdier to withstand cleaning processes, increased transportation and handling. This leads to increased material and energy use during its manufacture. Recycling activities also have an environmental impact, mainly in terms of energy consumption, because recyclables need to be transported, cleaned and reprocessed before they can be turned into new products. In some circumstances, it can therefore be less environmentally beneficial to recycle packaging, for example very small light-weight items such as cling-film. To identify packaging needs and optimise performance, a Life Cycle Analysis can be used to analyse the environmental impacts of each stage of a product's life cycle from raw material extraction to final disposal.

A number of toiletries, for example from the Body Shop, and cleaning liquids are sold in refillable or returnable containers. Similarly, buying milk in returnable bottles avoids the creation of plastics waste.

Reuse carrier bags. Each person in the UK uses an average of 134 plastic bags each year
Reuse scrap paper for writing notes, etc
Reuse envelopes - stick labels over the address
Rent or borrow items you don't use very often - e.g. party decorations and crockery. Some supermarkets hire out glasses for parties, saving on disposable cups
Donate old computer and audiovisual equipment to community groups or schools
Buy rechargeable items instead of disposable ones e.g. batteries and cameras
Buy things in refillable containers e.g. washing powders
Buy concentrated products, which use less packaging
Take old clothes and books to charity shops, or have a car boot sale
Look for long lasting (and energy efficient) appliances when buying new electrical items - ensure these are well maintained to increase product life cycle

RECYCLE

Many packaging materials can be collected for recycling; Examples include paper and glass and plastic bottles. It is best to purchase items for which you know that an infrastructure exists for recycling. Juice cartons have proved to be difficult to recycle although a plant now exists in Scotland for reprocessing this material.

Choose products in packaging, which you know, can be recycled
Compost - lots of kitchen waste can be composted. Contact your local council for details of local composting schemes and details of any compost bin sales. Click here for further advice on composting in your garden
Buy products made from recycled materials. Most supermarkets now stock a wide range of these items.

MAKE IT INTO ART – (what a load of rubbish!)

A three-tonne humanoid figure made out of electronic waste is being unveiled on London's South Bank.

To illustrate the size of the e-waste problem, the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) has built the sculpture, which weighs three tonnes and stands seven metres tall.

It is made up of the average quantity of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) an individual disposes of in a lifetime, including five fridges, 12 kettles and 35 mobile phones.

The "WEEE man" will be displayed outside City Hall on London's South Bank for 28 days before touring other parts of the country, including the Eden Project in Cornwall.

A European Union WEEE directive is expected to be introduced in the UK in early 2006, which makes producers of consumer electronics responsible for the recycling and disposal of goods returned to them at the end of their life.

Its implementation was delayed by the government because it requires a lot of communication between local authorities, councils and the technology industry.

The RSA hopes the striking figure on the South Bank will raise public awareness of WEEE and prompt consumers, retailers, designers and manufacturers to focus on recycling, reuse, repair, refurbishment, and sustainable manufacturing.

Waste Man (waste of time man)

You may have seen a documentary on channel 4, directed by Caroline Deeds
Broadcast Channel 4, 20:00, Saturday 2 December 2006, about, the making and burning of Antony Gormley’s Waste Man.

On 30 September 2006 Antony Gormley’s Waste Man was burned to the ground in front of an audience of thousands in the seaside town of Margate. Constructed entirely of the detritus of modern consumer society – planks of wood, tables, chairs, keyboards, paintings, dartboards, a front door, toilet seats - the 25m high man took over four weeks to construct by Gormley, his assistant, a team of professional riggers and a small army of enthusiastic volunteers from Margate. The building and burning of the Waste Man will form a definitive part of Penny Woolcock’s epic film, Exodus, a modern retelling of the biblical story of Exodus exploring themes of identity, migration and great movements of people across the globe.

Some saw the Waste Man as a waste of good wood and help themselves from a stockpile collected for the sculpture to supplement their winter fuel… For others, helping out with the sculpture represented a longed for wish for acceptance and belonging… building the man wasn’t the issue… being included was… The film followed the community’s response to Gormley’s aims, especially when they discovered that the Waste Man would be burned to the ground on completion…

I have to confess I do not care much for Gormleys work and his Angel of the North would be better consigned to the rubbish bin along with his waste man, but at least he has shown that you can be creative with junk and not just throw it into landfill.

Maybe the next time you go to the council tip instead of just chucking your rubbish into the skips you can get together with some of the other waste dumpers and build a sculpture a la Gormless, ……..Oops I mean Gormley and have yourself a time.

You will be helping the world in several ways

1. You will be reusing the waste before it is recycled, and therefore complying with one of the three r’s, which is reuse.
2. You will be finding a creative outlet for all those pent up artistic ambitions.
3. Get the council workmen to join in and create a more inclusive and co-operative neighbourhood environment.
4. Invite some old age pensioners to join in and sit round it to keep warm as you set light to it, and save them a few pence on their electricity bills
5. Enter it for the Turner prize and win £10,000 pounds for making a pile of rubbish , masquerading as art, because that is what usually wins.
6. Make it on bonfire night and kill two birds with one stone.
7. Invite Gormless along to see it, and throw him on the top as a Guy, just before you but a match to it.
8. or have it exhibited in the Tate Gallery

Whatever you do with your old rubbish, the next time you open the lid of your wheelie bin to but the weeks detritus in it, just have another look at what you have in your hand, and think twice, it could be the end of the world as we know it in your little black bag.

Don’t be a wise monkey, be a wise guy and help save the planet.
 

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