Is it really recycled?

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Is it really recycled?
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Downsizer Forum Index -> Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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Tristan

Joined: 29 Dec 2004
Posts: 392
Location: North Gloucestershire

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 05 11:58 pm Post subject:
Ive had that confirmed by a family friend in Nottinghamshire who followed a glass recycling truck to the local landfill where it tipped 17 tonnes of broken glass in with the household waste. Not really surprising when the cost of recycling glass is greater than the cost of making it from scratch

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28231
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 05 12:00 am Post subject:

Tristan wrote:

Ive had that confirmed by a family friend in Nottinghamshire who followed a glass recycling truck to the local landfill where it tipped 17 tonnes of broken glass in with the household waste. Not really surprising when the cost of recycling glass is greater than the cost of making it from scratch

Once apon a time you could recycle intact glass

Marigold123

Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 05 1:45 am Post subject:

jema wrote:

Once apon a time you could recycle intact glass

Yep! My siser and I used to make a bomb when we were kids, by knocking on doors and taking away folks' old lemonade and beer bottles for them, then taking them back to the shop for the deposit.

Gertie

Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Posts: 1638
Location: Yorkshire

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 05 7:31 am Post subject:

I've got my own little recycling scheme.

I buy in jars for my pickles, chutneys and jams - these are sold onto my friends and neighbours and when they finish the jars they give me them back, I check for any damage and if they are 100% ok I sterilise them, to be re-used later. I can then deduct the cost of the initial jar from their next order. I'm not out for making a profit - I enjoy cooking and my friends and neighbours enjoy the product!

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 05 7:40 am Post subject:

jema wrote:

Once apon a time you could recycle intact glass

Some businesses still do, Young's brewery in Wandsworth(the one that uses dray horses) re-use the bottles from their own pubs. I once got a bottle of Ramrod which had been made in 1948. The bottle, not the beer.

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 05 8:46 am Post subject:
Young's: one of their drays ran over my great-grannie and killed her. Long time ago, even before your bottle was made, Sean!

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 05 12:01 pm Post subject:
If these stories ar true, then it is an even greater incentive to reduce before we re-use or recycle, no?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45665
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 05 12:02 pm Post subject:
Yup, reduce is the best policy all the way around.

joker

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 188
Location: hiding

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 05 12:10 pm Post subject:

mochyn wrote:

Young's: one of their drays ran over my great-grannie and killed her. Long time ago, even before your bottle was made, Sean!

Sorry but this made me think of the line in Mrs Doubtfire when she/He says It was the drink that killed her husband he was hit by a guiness truck

Its true youngs do still use drays i saw one only 2 weeks ago

Gertie

Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Posts: 1638
Location: Yorkshire

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 05 6:21 pm Post subject:
There used to be a few breweries which would use the dray horses, Vaux brewery used to use them - shame they don't anymore I'd love to see more Clydesdales and Shires being used - only time we get to see them now is 'turned out' at the Great Yorkshire Show.

tinyclanger

Joined: 27 Dec 2004
Posts: 190
Location: in the kitchen, baking

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 05 2:30 pm Post subject: Tristians recycling dilema

Dear Tristian,

I looked on the Hampshire Council website and have found the answer to your concern about your rubbish and your recycling going into the same truck.

Use the link here

https://www.hart.gov.uk/waste/bluebin.htm

It says that the refuse and recycling bins are collected by a split rear end loader. This is a refuse truck which is split in two, thus keeping the refuse and recycling materials seperate.
I hope this aleviates your fears for the destination of your recycling.

Cheers,em:-)

tinyclanger

Joined: 27 Dec 2004
Posts: 190
Location: in the kitchen, baking

Posted: Fri Mar 18, 05 2:54 pm Post subject:

Tristan,

I had a look into this problem ....

[/quote] Not really surprising when the cost of recycling glass is greater than the cost of making it from scratch [quote]

I contacted WRAP who commisioned a report on container glass manufacture last year, this is what they has to say....

The UK average energy requirement for container glass melting is 4.97 GJ/tonne with an average recycled content of the feedstock at 30%. At current energy prices this is equivalent to approximately £14/tonne. Extrapolating backwards and assuming no recycled glass in the feedstock gives a melting cost of £15.20/tonne. Therefore, it is estimated that overall the glass container sector saves some £2 million/year from the use of recycled glass.

This was over 6 months ago and as fuel prices have risen since I should emagine that the cost savings per tonnes are now greater.

Cheers, em:-)

PS I have the whole document if anyone would care to PM me I can forward it to you.

Tristan

Joined: 29 Dec 2004
Posts: 392
Location: North Gloucestershire

Posted: Wed Mar 23, 05 12:27 pm Post subject: Re: Tristians recycling dilema

tinyclanger wrote:

It says that the refuse and recycling bins are collected by a split rear end loader. This is a refuse truck which is split in two, thus keeping the refuse and recycling materials seperate.
I hope this aleviates your fears for the destination of your recycling.

Cheers,em:-)

I have seen the 'split' trucks in town, however out here we only get one wheelie bin and recycling sacks that we are told to put into the bin. The truck that collects the rubbish on this round is just a bog-standard compactor type. We come under Basingstoke and Deane council but their waste contract is with Integra as well.

Thanks for finding that link, it made me try to find out more. I.m going to see if it is possible to visit the new incinerator.

belfast-biker

Joined: 09 Aug 2005
Posts: 9
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 10:21 am Post subject: Re: Tristians recycling dilema

Just sent this letter via https://www.writetothem.com/ (write to your councillor/mp/mep site)

I’m writing to you to address a couple of concerns I have regarding Belfast City Councils recent household recycling initiative.

I appreciate being able to divert our recyclable waste to the designated blue bin, in order for you to meet your target of recovering “25% of household waste by 2005, of which at least 15% should be by recycling or composting.”

This blue bin has a label which claims it “Likes Cardboard, Paper, Cans and Plastic Bottles”.

Your website states “Having secured a contract with Shotton Mill to provide them with a regular supply of high grade post consumer waste paper […] 1,148 tonnes of paper have been diverted from landfill.”

There is no mention of arrangements for recycling our cans and plastic bottles in the same way.

A few members of the popular downsizer.net internet forums were concerned about fraud in household recycling schemes:

"There are certainly a lot of documented examples of recycling schemes being a fraud."

"I heard rumours from within the waste department when I worked at a civic amenity site that much of the stuff collected for recycling was dumped."

"I've had that confirmed by a family friend in Nottinghamshire who followed a glass recycling truck to the local landfill where it tipped 17 tonnes of broken glass in with the household waste."

The letsrecycle.com website states that in September last year, police were called in to investigate allegations of fraud in the plastic packaging waste sector – The investigation found that “reprocessors and exporters have been incorrectly issuing compliance documentation […] during 2002 and 2003, which has made it appear that they were recycling more plastic packaging waste than they were.”

Please can you investigate and put my mind to rest that ALL our recyclable waste is actually recycled? In addition, is there really no company in Northern Ireland able to deal with post consumer waste paper? Is it really necessary to send it to North Wales?

Many thanks

We'll see what happens. Cheers to all who posted here for giving me the urge to do this...

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 05 11:37 am Post subject:

sean wrote:

jema wrote:

Once apon a time you could recycle intact glass

irn bru is still sold widely in bottles here and you get 20p back for each one you return! dh is an irn bru fanatic so i've become very good at spotting irn bru (or indeed ANY Barrs products) bottles at 20 paces! i used to work out near a building site and i would gather up 3-4 bottles a day left by the builders to take home for dh... 4 bottles equates to a FREE full bottle of irn bru in all but the very most expensive shops but most stores sell it for 75p!

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