Recycling - A waste of energy?

[F104]

Originally Posted by Ukwildlifeo

There is of course the debate about recycling, while it saves resources in terms of metal and trees etc, it does use a lot of energy (heating up, processing and transport) and water to recycle these materials. No one ever seems to discuss this - maybe im barking up the wrong tree lol

I don't hink you are barking up the wrong tree, all re-cycling its a complex equation about energy used to re-cycle includng transport cost, environmental impact of the method of re-cycling etc. The key point for me is to deal with the problem at source i.e. reduce packaging for one. IMHO

Also articles like this are food for thought.

Waste land | Environment | The Guardian

[Digit]

The biggest con is the type practice by my council. They practice Co-Mingled recycling.
Wanna know what that is? We sort it out they bung all back together.

Roy.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by Digit

The biggest con is the type practice by my council. They practice Co-Mingled recycling.
Wanna know what that is? We sort it out they bung all back together.

Roy.

And leave half of it all over the road before driving off.

[Digit]

And leave half of it all over the road before driving off.

Roy.

[foxy mars]

Originally Posted by demicav

I always give things a rinse before putting them in the recycle bin but I don't worry too much if they're not perfect. I know what you mean about hot water ect. Also when you're on a water metre every bit of water counts.

I'm on the water meter, being a single bloke and since this recycling thing started, my water meter reading have gone up. Then I have been having a bath twice a week, naughty boy

Originally Posted by ashby_1963

I try to recycle all my containers but the Council insists that they are free from all traces of food.

Any thoughts?

I put my recycling box out this morning and only to find that there was a jar with 1/3 full of peanut butter inside (my doing). Strange I thought, thinking when the glass gets smelted down again, this surplus peanut butter would simply burn up and finish up on the top.

[Digit]

this surplus peanut butter would simply burn up and finish up on the top.


Quite! But just how many of the local council Little Hitlers actually know anything about recycling and how many spend their time achieving so called Government Targets.
Many years ago the Soviet Government ordered nail manufacturers to increase their output. They did, they switched to producing billions of short ones!
Hit the target though.

Roy.

[gleditsa]

For those of you who use the recycling centres in your local supermarket car parks etc, a word of caution,
when the collection firm comes to empty the bins there, any bottles or whatever the bins contain, that are left near the bins when they are full does not get collected by them but left for the the local council to deal with, this is not then taken to a recyling centre as you would think, but is instead taken to the nearest landfill site, where they are charged for the tipping of this waste plus a government imposed fine for tipping recyclable materials(around £38 per ton i believe)
according to one of the local councils drivers, in the two day period following christmas he took over 35 tons of bottles to the landfill site!!
i dont suppose for a minute it is just our council that does this sort of thing, so who pays this fine for the tipping of this waste??

youve guessed it

[nightshade]

Anything for recycling gets a rinse in the still warm, but finished with, washing up water. I missed some staples in a cardboard box and was given a lecture from the skirmishing team of dustbinmen (whose job it appears to be to see just how many used tissues and petfood pouches they can drop in the shortest time) I asked for names and they suddenly had business elsewhere!
(but not before they had picked up the signature tissues and pouches as I sweetly asked them to)
Get a copy of the rules of engagement and study them, brandish them, challenge their
interpretation, go to council meetings and drag out the sessions with prepared questions (try to think of answers they may give and phrase your questions on this basis) get the local paper to turn up but try to find out their political leanings first

[Pat]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Anything for recycling gets a rinse in the still warm, but finished with, washing up water. I missed some staples in a cardboard box and was given a lecture from the skirmishing team of dustbinmen (whose job it appears to be to see just how many used tissues and petfood pouches they can drop in the shortest time) I asked for names and they suddenly had business elsewhere!
(but not before they had picked up the signature tissues and pouches as I sweetly asked them to)
Get a copy of the rules of engagement and study them, brandish them, challenge their
interpretation, go to council meetings and drag out the sessions with prepared questions (try to think of answers they may give and phrase your questions on this basis) get the local paper to turn up but try to find out their political leanings first

We put out some cardboad in a recycling box on Friday and the men refused to take it because some of it was hanging over the side of the box, it will stay there until they collect it. We'll be on to the council tomorrow morning and if we get no joy we are going to get on to the local paper. The trouble is these men are not employed by the council now, it's all put out to contractors.

[foxy mars]

Recycling the papers, bottles and cans maybe a good thing.

I was cycling home from work last year about 1:30am and Police pulled me up. Officer said to me, that had I seen 3 youths along this road, I replied no, but had seen 3 youths the other week on several occasions rumming through the recycling bins. I said to the officer, that I did'nt want to involved in their going's on, but officers said to ring the Police next time.

I was not sure if the youths were after aluminium cans or name & address's in the the paper bin. Never saw the youths again.