Household waste recycling

Amen Simmy276, I feel your pain. They did the same here. The last straw was when they kept the bin and didn't replace it. I still recycle, but I wait till I got a load and take to a comercial site

This is an argument which always leaves me puzzled.

"The tin cans have to be immaculately washed out and the labels peeled off so that there is not a single bit of paper or food left on them". - just bung them in with the rest of the washing upo. If you leave them until last, then the label will come off really easily,

"They will only take certain colour glass, again with the labels soaked off"
Again, just bung it in with the washing up.

Plastic sorting - just have a different bag for each type & pop them in as soon asthe carton is empty.

I could go on, but I won't. We all have to be willing to take some responsibility for clearing up our own waste. It's not fun, but it is necessary. Maybe think of the wider picture, of our children, our children's children - and realise that doing this one boring task might help slow down the decline of our lovely planet.

This recycling is getting a bit ridiculous in my opinion.

I am also pro-recycling but I am not pro doing the council's job for them.

Plastic bottles but no tops, food tins but peeled and washed, what a nonsense.

I've stopped sorting for the council now, if they want my tins, the recycler can peel and wash them. Same for bottles, the recycler can take the tops off. If the council target me and say I can't do it they way I am doing it, then I will stop doing it and my plastic will go to landfill with all the other stuff.

As for freezing your waste, I saw the Microbiologist from the TV show "How clean is your house" suggesting this ! But what about my carbon footprint if I have to buy and run a freezer in my garage for perishable waste?

Composting ? Our neighbours have cats and they have noticed a massive increase in the numbers of dead mice the cats have brought home as a gift for mum ! And neither of us compost.

Next it'll be rats followed soon by cases of Weil's Disease (pronounced Vile's Disease), infection from which has a fatality rate of 10% (See http://www.caveinfo.org.uk/nca/weils.htm).

Glass bottles ! Collect them, put them in my car and drive to the recycling point, polluting as I go ! My local council doesn't collect glass so it goes to landfill.

I'd recycle and reduce if it were made less onerous for me to do so. ( I don't understand what re-use means in practical terms - I'm not prepared to walk around looking like a caveman in trampy clothes that should have been slung out last year - sorry)

Round our way, if you dare to take the rubbish that the bin-men won't take to the containers at the supermarkets etc., these large bins are spewing all there contents over the surrounding area - where the Council have not emptied them at the appropriate intervals. So, yet another wasted journey!

As an ardent recycler I can only agree. The council is treating me with utter contempt by making me store my putrid waste for 2 weeks. We were told before the fortnightly scheme we would be able to recycle plastics - what we got was plastic bottles no other plastic. I want to recycle but I want a weekly collection of putrid waste and have started a petition to Tony Blair.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/WeeklyRubbish/

This is hardly a well thought out scheme. I missed my refuse collection as I was away for the weekend I now have had to store my waste for 4 weeks! The council passed on a message to inform me that some residents thought it was a good idea to freeze their waste food! Signe the petition to Mr. Blair for weekly collections at: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/WeeklyRubbish/

Anyone willing to share their gripes about waste and recycling or about crazy systems in their area for waste collection?
Would be keen to hear for BBC Radio programme.
Please email costingtheearth@bbc.co.uk

Someone told me that works in my local council waste dept. that when the lorries come in to the depot to pick up the paper waste,if one is only part full they top it up with ordinary household waste so as not to have to run another lorry for ordinary waste.So much for recycling

I totally agree. The amount of engery wasted by heating washing water to clean tins,bottles and for removing lables must far outway the savings that are reported as being made. Recycle by all means but keep it simple!!

call me selfish but I will not recycle- there is no incentive to recycle does the council give a rebate no- I will continue to put all my rubbish into one bin we pay enough on communtity charge the council can do it.

I cant even recycle the local amenities located at a pub were removed as they wanted a beer garden, now the nearest one is way to far away to drag away my bottles etc and I live in a flat with the old metal bins which houses got rid of 20 years ago, how can they start charging the likes of being on the weight when I can only put one black bag of rubbish in the bin.

Gutted! Sounds like your council are rubbish. Round my way we just chuck all our recylcables in the whelly bin with the blue lid. Can't use it for glass though but I guess its only fair, cause by not sorting it ourselves some body else will have to and I think it would be a bit too dangerous for them if it involved glass.
Anyway I quite enjoy the satisfying sound of the glass bottles smashing as I hurl them into the bottle bank.