Scary facts about our rubbish ?

It is scary, I now recycle everything I can having found TerraCycle UK and its designated places to take plastics. It means I have all sorts of collecting bags but that is fine, toothpaste tubes and other dental items go to a local dentist, my main issue was coffee pods, they are now recycled through this scheme, pill packets go to a pharmacy. I am trying to ensure that I buy my clothing etc made from natural yarn and nothing synthetic. I have noticed that firms are changing to either paper and cardboard packaging and composable plastic wrappers. If we all make just one change it will make a huge difference.

Sorry, but some of that isn't true and as it doesn't tell anyone what some of the items decompose into ( ie, harmless organic matter) it's a bit loaded to share.

True NellG.

For example. There are two types of milk cartons. Plastic- or wax-coated paper (like milk cartons, ice cream containers).
These should NOT go in the compost.

Most cartons are 75% paper, 20% plastic (polyethylene) and 5% aluminium foil (for long-life products).

There was a programme on TV where they dug up old landfill sites and discussed what has gone in them over the years. I could see items dug up that I might have thrown out in the 1970s. It was very disturbing to think of countless years of waste just lying there in the ground. We just have no idea.

First let me say that I am very aware of waste and feel I would get 10 out of 10 for my recycling skills. I try and shop in an environmentally friendly fashion. But.... I understand that our oil comes from material that has decomposed over millions of years. So that decomposing material has been there for a very long time, underground, not doing us any harm.
I also understand that ours is a different kind of waste but does anyone know that if we bury our waste and leave it undisturbed for centuries it would actually harm us?

Lots of the things on that list can be and are recycled. Has the writer of this list seen the adverts telling us how quickly todays empty aluminium drinks can is next weeks recycled refilled drinks can?

As for the the rest many are compostable and things like orange peel and apple cores decompose much more quickly than they say, when put on a compost heap, that is then dug into the ground to grow next year's vegetables.

This list smacks to me of holy bolony.

Lots of items can be recycled but are they, not everyone recycles.

Copied from WWF.co.uk

Even if you live hundreds of miles from the coast, the plastic you throw away could make its way into the sea. Once in the ocean, plastic decomposes very slowly, breaking down in to tiny pieces known as micro plastics that can be incredibly damaging to sea life. 80% of plastic in our oceans is from land sources – but what does that really mean? Where is it coming from?

There are three main ways the plastic we use every day ends up in the oceans.

Throwing plastic in the bin when it could be recycled

Littering

Products that go down the drain

We’re back to using glass milk bottles, delivered to the door. A bit more expensive, but it is a local business, and there’s no plastic waste.

When dried, orange and lemon peel make good firelighters.