Recycling isn't the answer

[Dave645]

The government could say to retailers that all products could be sold in a common shaped bottle that was black or whatever and save having a myriad of different bottle types that could thus be washed and recycled but no one will because big business would complain their unique packaging was lost.

I don’t think a common shape is the main problem as we don’t reuse plastic bottles it’s make packaging of only one type of material, it’s easy to recycle if next to no separation is needed, but they use lots of grades of plastics then mix in cardboard, it’s not like we haven’t anyone to look at who is already doing things
https://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/...ty-epr/producer-responsibility-for-packaging/
The moment costs of recycling are dumped of the people designing and using packaging is the moment they do something about it they also have laws about the amount of types of packaging on any one item, to again make them simpler to recycle.

there are options around packaging of food that reduce or remove plastics, we just need laws to make them mandatory on the right type of products. Short shelf life goods can often use bio degradable alternatives that are not plastic based.

 

[ollie989898]

I don’t think a common shape is the main problem as we don’t reuse plastic bottles it’s make packaging of only one type of material, it’s easy to recycle if next to no separation is needed, but they use lots of grades of plastics then mix in cardboard, it’s not like we haven’t anyone to look at who is already doing things
https://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/...ty-epr/producer-responsibility-for-packaging/
The moment costs of recycling are dumped of the people designing and using packaging is the moment they do something about it they also have laws about the amount of types of packaging on any one item, to again make them simpler to recycle.

there are options around packaging of food that reduce or remove plastics, we just need laws to make them mandatory on the right type of products. Short shelf life goods can often use bio degradable alternatives that are not plastic based.

Sorry, my post should have stated this but it was poorly written. As you say there is so much variety in plastic types and their densities that recycling them is a nightmare. There is no reason the government or even the EU could insist on standardised packaging made from a particular kind of plastic. As it stands it would be easier to incinerate the stuff to make electricity.

 

[bluebell]

Anyone over 60? you will then remember as a child "a world" before plastic, food was sold in paper, greaseprouf paper, cardboard, tins, or glass, plastic had just started to "creep in", farming, feed was delivered in multi core paper sacks, or hession, jute sacks, baling, rope, twine, cord, was all made from "natural products", yes plastic was seen in the "1960s" as the "wonder" material, used for products from toys, buckets, washing bowls, "packaging" etc etc etc, but why cant the "natural" products used in the recent past make a "modern day" comeback?

 

[Jimfandango]

Sell stuff in glass, tin and cardboard. If it's more expensive that has to be thought of as the tax on not using that sh1t. Unnecessary plastic use is a blight on the last century.
It really requires people to make more of an effort though.
On a side note. Tesco customer service have a free postal address so you could take all the plastic off your goods and post it back to them for free. For a laugh really

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Our economy is based on restricted supply of houses making prices go up; borrowing against this value; spending the money on crap we don't need. Reduce and reuse are not part of the economic growth paradigm.

And of course, the best way of ensuring the young are compliant and good citizens, is to saddle them with huge debt, so they spend the next 25 or 30 years paying it off, by which time, they will reach our age and generally be if not happy with the status quo, at least not willing to rock the boat too much.

 

[Barleymow]

Sell stuff in glass, tin and cardboard. If it's more expensive that has to be thought of as the tax on not using that sh1t. Unnecessary plastic use is a blight on the last century.
It really requires people to make more of an effort though.
On a side note. Tesco customer service have a free postal address so you could take all the plastic off your goods and post it back to them for free. For a laugh really

That would boost the post office too,will they take chemical cans and fertiliser bags used in production of food , they might be our saviours after all

 

[killie_cowboy]

Silage clamps are a difficult one as the carbon emissions for producing the cement for the concrete are enormous.

Then you still have a plastic top sheet and probably line it all around.

If we could find a genuine use for spent bale wrap it would be better.

They say greta thunberg has an earth bank silage pit.

 

[yoki]

I remember seeing the exact same thing happening in Gibraltar in the 90's.

 

[yoki]

Anyone over 60? you will then remember as a child "a world" before plastic, food was sold in paper, greaseprouf paper, cardboard, tins, or glass, plastic had just started to "creep in", farming, feed was delivered in multi core paper sacks, or hession, jute sacks, baling, rope, twine, cord, was all made from "natural products", yes plastic was seen in the "1960s" as the "wonder" material, used for products from toys, buckets, washing bowls, "packaging" etc etc etc, but why cant the "natural" products used in the recent past make a "modern day" comeback?

Cost!

Everyone wants to pontificate, no one wants to pay.

You are quite correct though.

PS - just brought back memories of the "bag man". Called round every so often in a wee Commer van and lifted all the old meal bags.

 

[renewablejohn]

Dont panic there building a recycling facility in the North East to turn plastic waste into fuel mainly a diesel substitute. Now how about a policy to ban the sale of new diesel cars. Oh I forgot we already have one.

 

[ollie989898]

Dont panic there building a recycling facility in the North East to turn plastic waste into fuel mainly a diesel substitute. Now how about a policy to ban the sale of new diesel cars. Oh I forgot we already have one.

That's in the North East though- they don't yet have electricity in that non-developed country and I suspect the diesel substitute will be greatly recieved as an alternative to the whale oil their ramshackle economy is presently dependant upon.

 

[tepapa]

As of late I've been looking at the non recyclable plastic before I put it in the general waste bin and thinking, that's going to land fill and it'll sit there for the next couple of hundred years just so I could have a few biscuits with my tea, or I could pop it in the log burner and derive a slight bit of heat and it'll be gone forever more. Dilemma

 

[Jsmith2211]

Isn't the idea

1) REDUCE
2) Reuse
3) recycle

They do the first one where it is cost effective, i.e. reduce the size of the packet and therefore less plastic used (keep the price the same though)
The second one.... Cant possibly do that because that would lower sales!! and profits!!
the third one therefore must carry the whole weight

 

[JWL]

The council's are some hippocrates with their recycling bins, tell us all to wash out the tins, only put dry cardboard in etc etc. Then come and pick it up every fortnight with a crusher on wheels that compacts it all up. That's either going to landfill or the incinerator not to a sorting table.

 

[ollie989898]

The council's are some hippocrates with their recycling bins, tell us all to wash out the tins, only put dry cardboard in etc etc. Then come and pick it up every fortnight with a crusher on wheels that compacts it all up. That's either going to landfill or the incinerator not to a sorting table.

All being incinerated, I would put money on it. A lot of these materials, paper for example, are so low value in brand new 'recycled' form that it isn't worth doing really. Glass is all smashed up and used as as a component part road aggregate I understand?

 

[warksfarmer]

Having had experience of a transfer station as part of a greenwaste facility I can confirm many of you are wasting your time recycling if you live in villages and rural locations. Each council has a precept for ‘green recycling’ and let’s say for example that is £1 million. The council will use that £1 mill starting from the districts largest conurbation which lets say has 20,000 population. They run the recycling plastic, metal and paper collection in that town and when the £1 million has been used up, the rest is land filled. The dustbin wagons turn up and tip its contents into one large pile. That is then collected by 44t trucks and goes direct to landfill. Having seen this with 4 district councils I’d say not even 50% of waste was recycled. It’s all smoke and mirrors and careful wording allows them to get round it.

 

[Scholsey]

Anything made with single use plastic/materials should be taxed the full cost of disposal which is then invested in recycling facilities in the country, the extra cost incurred by manufactures would push them towards no longer using single use materials, all electrical goods should be made with a minimum 10 year life span with every part available to fix at a small cost.

 

[Dave645]

All being incinerated, I would put money on it. A lot of these materials, paper for example, are so low value in brand new 'recycled' form that it isn't worth doing really. Glass is all smashed up and used as as a component part road aggregate I understand?

Glass around us is turned into sand a lot of sand used for block paving is just crushed glass.
To be honest a return to glass in more products would be a good step.

 

[Jrp221]

Just out of interest .......... and potentially VERY worrying but I see that Dutch researchers have now found micro plastics in the bloodstream of farm animals. It is assumed that they have got there via water ingestion.
Ergo, it is likely that micro plastics will also be in the blood of humans. However, far more likely is that it will be used as a stick to tell us to stop eating meat

Microplastics are found in the blood of farm animals for first time

Scientists say the research, which involved 12 cows and six pigs and was led by Heather Leslie, of Vrije University in Amsterdam, could have serious implications for public health.

www.dailymail.co.uk

(also in the Times but behind a pay wall)

and here we go:

Microplastic particles now discoverable in human organs

New technique expected to enable scientists to find accumulated microplastics in humans

www.theguardian.com

Pretty sure they have found micro plastics in humans, its not just the micro plastics but also phthalates, hormone-disrupting chemicals that have been found in sea bird eggs and in cetaceans.

 

[DrWazzock]

Shelves full of bottled water in the supermarket. It comes out of the tap.
I really think we could stop the problem at source if we really wanted to.
But excessive packaging is an integral part of the global corporate model. Food imports in particular are heavily packaged so they can withstand the long journey.
You can buy products without packaging if you look for them. Even imported fruit can be bought loose.
And usually all the ultra processed crap seems to need most packaging. We could live without 8 out of 10 of the aisles in our local supermarket.
It needs a complete change of mindset. But I’m as apathetic and lazy as anybody. While it’s cheaper than what it really costs there’s not much incentive to change.