Recycling Stress

Rosina that would make me want to bang my head against a wall too. Sadly, I can believe...

I try to reuse plastics that come into the house. Not possible in a lot of situations. If a carton cannot be recycled then I save it to grow seeds in, I washout freezer bags and hang on line to dry to reuse. Try to avoid single use plastics, reuse foil if possible. If it's compostable I will use it on the compost heap. Use a local butcher so no meat cartons, morrisons do paper bags for a lot of fruit and veg now.

I find it stressful too, at the time of sorting it out, searching for that little recycling sign on the offending article without my glasses on.!

I have just read an article that made me want to bang my head against the wall. In the Malaysian jungle a huge heap of recycling has been found, with Waitrose and Tesco carrier bags, full of bottles/plastic etc. that people here have clearly separated for recycling - and it has been flown half way round the world and dumped in a jungle!

I try to do my bit by recycling whatever I can, using bar soap and tea leaves, and buying clothes that are 'pre loved', but when I see relatives using plastic cutlery and other planet wrecking items I too feel a sense of panic for my grandchildren.

Any one who pays U.K council tax is entitled to a regular house hold refuse and a recycling collection. Get in touch with your local council who will send you information on how to address this situation.

I actually don't like the idea of seats and structures made from visible waste! It sends the message that rubbish is ok to be part of our lives. It's a very temporary measure, so when it is no longer wanted, it still won't be recyclable.

We really do need bold innovation to stop commercial polluters. And solutions do exist, but it is cheaper for them to keep on polluting. Don't they have children, and imaginations as to the wretched problems their obsession with today's bottom line will cause future generations?

Bluebelle’s post about two litre plastic bottles reminded me that GS’s primary school made a whole walk-in greenhouse out of two litre plastic bottles and it worked very well. The children grew all sorts of plants in it for their school garden.

I read about...

I agree completely with Avalon25. We can all do our bit, but until industry is compelled to do their bit, what we do as individuals is but a drop in the ocean of plastic waste.

Not to mention the point made by SueDonim regarding attitudes in the US. Then there's China and India who have some catching up to do... Even so, the approach outlined by M0nica is probably the best we can do for now.

I do like the idea of filling plastic bottles and using them to build a wall, barrier or seating. A read about a school that collected plastic waste like this and built a much needed shed.

Many of us will have seen those large wire shapes on beaches or at some rail stations and probably other places where you can deposit plastics and other non recyclables in a shaped wire container to make a sort of giant 'sculpture'.

Where there's a will....

I have had to phone our council on a number of occasions because the collection team have refused to collect items which ARE on their recycling list! Unbelievable!

Brown bin landfill, black bin recyclables, green bin garden waste, here, totally different a couple of miles away, why not all the same??

My local Council has a clear list of recyclable items. I am also fortunate to have a local shop which sells mostly loose fruit & veg, they use paper bags for anything you need to bag otherwise it goes loose in my hessian shopping bag. I resist buying fruit & veg from supermarkets, I also have veg box deliveries, very little plastic use & they're always trying to find ways of sourcing recyclable materials.

Where possible I buy salad dressing/sauces/condiment in glass bottles rather than plastic. Black plastic trays are a disgrace as they have to be "binned", why can't supermarkets use clear ones oh I know why, food looks better displayed in black trays .

We can only do what we can do, no good stressing about it. Putting pressure on large companies may work. My home Town is going "plastic free", we need to support this everywhere possible

Fennel, I do see that, but national 'standards', would enable us to see which type of plastic is recyclable in whatever area we are.
I buy most of my fruit and veg at a fantastic local shop, and the market. There, and on the occasions I use a supermarket, I put loose produce into bags I made from old net curtains. And of course I realise that's not an option for some. To me it's about doing what you can. There are things I can't do and I don't stress about them, just look out for what is possible.

vivvq - When shopping for fruit and veg at the major supermarkets, try to buy them 'loose' - and just place into your basket/trolley - the assistant will weigh them at the till.

If they don't sell 'loose produce', select the items that you want and then take them out of the plastic bags as you pack them into your re-usable shopping bag. This way, the problem of excess plastic packaging is immediately passed back to the supermarket - so it's THEIR problem not yours :-).

It really stresses me that all the emphasis on recycling seems to be pushed at the consumer. Yes, I do recycle everything I can and for our small business use paper straws and recyclable cutlery and cups and am constantly researching to improve. So we the consumers do our best but it's the big manufacturers and the super markets who need to do much much more but they seem to get away with it. We are never going to get to proper grips with this for the future if major changes aren't made with the whole way our society operates.

My local council website has pretty clear lists of what they can/can't recycle. Does yours have similar?
Sometimes we're still not sure, but the bin men will leave it behind if it's a 'no'. So no sweat.

PS please read SueDonym's post to see how America needs to be more stressed about the environment.

I wish to goodness everyone was stressed like Vivvq is stressed !

Unless everyone becomes stressed like vivvq is stressed there will in a few years be no sorting needing to be done.

Well done you. Many don't. Please don't stress. Enjoy the fact that you are helping the planet and your grandchildren's future.

How about rather than stress about the recycling, instead but more ethically . We don't buy prepared fruit/veg. Overly packaged items, plastic that is one time use only i.e handwash , shampoo etc ( bulk but from Faith in nature) that way you have cut down before it makes it's way into your home.

My weekend newspapers arrive with a hefty package of supplements that I'm not interested in a subsequently 'bin'.

I have contacted the publisher suggesting that if buyers really wanted/needed the supplements they could be purchased separately. I never received a response.

What really needles me is that these supplements arrive in a recyclable plastic bag made from potato starch. I wonder why this product isn't used more extensively?

You'll laugh - I read the title and thought I knew what it was about. I have noticed when husband is 'nervous' (which he never is you know...) he get all twitchy - then I get a bit 'eggshells' in sympathy. - Re-cycling stress! But yes,on the real recycling -DYB

Sadly it is confusing area to area. Do your best and don’t worry. Once it is generic / standardised for all UK we can all work towards that.

Following my earlier post about the US, I had coffee served in a real mug today.

My attempt to buy fruit & veg at a market didn't go so well. I wanted to use my own bag but the stall holder insisted on putting items into plastic bags before putting them into my own bag.

My point was that in many recycling plants an incorrect item is NOT recovered and removed, but the whole batch is sent to landfill.

So people might be feeling good believing they've done their small bit, not realising that they've actually caused a problem.

Happiyogi You have lost me. I said Green bin for anything we think is recyclable - _and stickers to stick on the bin telling us what can be recycled, and the list is long and inclusive_

I think you have taken one small phrase out of context. But as all our recycling from plastic bottles to tins to mobile phones all goes in the one bin and is sorted after collection. If in doubt I put it in because I know anything that isn't recylable will be filtered out in the sorting process. Because we have been given such a long and inclusive list of recyclable items, it is very clear what is and is not recyclable so the number of doubtful items is very small.

Mor to the point we all have to do everything we can, no matter how small to make big changes when they are all added up.

But we can't, long term, go bunging things which "we think" are recyclable M0nica into a system which may reject them. That way we could be causing whole consignments of potential recycling material to be rejected and sent to landfill, while at home we have a faux warm glow from "knowing" that we've done our best.

And if a wrapper states that it is currently non-recyclable, then we have no choice but to bin it. Since the technology already exists to make recyclable packaging , I think manufacturers should be obliged to use it.