question on recycling...

[E21_Ross]

I posted this in home, diy etc but need a response quick so posted it here too. mods, if necessary, just delete this thread. but please don't


I seem to have moved in with green nazis and just have a question regards recycling stuff....

1 - does it matter if cardboard is mixed with plasticss (e.g. plastic bottles with cardboard stuffs such as breakfast cereal boxes)?

2 - we don't have a recycling bin, we just have 1 bin for non-recyclables and we have to put bags outside containing the recycling. they give us clear plastic bags, but often i just put my recycling in sainsbury's bags (after all....they still have to empty the other bags). my flat mates asked me to 'sort it out' now. but i can't see the point, since there are no separate bins, surely it all has to get sorted at the same place? i don't mind recycling, but i don't like doing stuff for no reason whatsoever. i posted another thread a while ago, these people turn the switches off at the wall, as they think it saves energy when something is plugged into it even if it's not on (e.g. a toaster).that's fking stupid.

thanks for any input guys. if i think of any more questions, i'll post them.
need a reply pronto if possible!

cheers

Ross.

[randlemarcus]

Move out. HTH

[sleep envy]

recycle your housemates

[ewenm]

It'll depend almost entirely on whoever runs the collection scheme. Round here we can mix paper, glass, metal, plastic but cardboard must be separate. The guys collecting it sort out the mixed stuff but it's a different collection for the cardboard.

Check your local council website.

[Rude-boy]

ewenm said:

Check your local council website.

It's the only way to be sure!

if that doesn't work call their Recycling Officer.

Every council is different. Ours allows us to put all recycling into one blue bin, save for food and garden waste which goes in a green one and 'landfill' which goes in a grey one!

[E21_Ross]

just found this on their site:

"All the recyclables we collect through the kerbside recycling service are taken to a local facility and sorted into different types of material. The sorting facilities separate recyclables into mixed paper, cardboard, cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles."

i love being right

[ewenm]

The sensible thing to do would be to talk to the recycling guys who do the collections and ask them if it's helpful for the types to be sorted. If it is helpful, then sort them; if they just chuck it all in one box anyway, don't bother sorting.

[E21_Ross]

following their snotty note to me, i have written the following:

"re: recycling

it is not necessary to separate cardboard from plastic, paper, cans etc. this all gets recycled at their centre. You can see this on the councils website if you believe otherwise,

thanks,

Ross.

NB - please recycle this piece of paper after use, but it doesn't matter where you put it "

[sleep envy]

well done

you're showing some fantastic social and diplomacy skills

[SystemParanoia]

pour used engine oil over all their stupid bins and contents.

job done

[shamrock]

E21_Ross said:

I posted this in home, diy etc but need a response quick so posted it here too. mods, if necessary, just delete this thread. but please don't


I seem to have moved in with green nazis and just have a question regards recycling stuff....

1 - does it matter if cardboard is mixed with plasticss (e.g. plastic bottles with cardboard stuffs such as breakfast cereal boxes)?

2 - we don't have a recycling bin, we just have 1 bin for non-recyclables and we have to put bags outside containing the recycling. they give us clear plastic bags, but often i just put my recycling in sainsbury's bags (after all....they still have to empty the other bags). my flat mates asked me to 'sort it out' now. but i can't see the point, since there are no separate bins, surely it all has to get sorted at the same place? i don't mind recycling, but i don't like doing stuff for no reason whatsoever. i posted another thread a while ago, these people turn the switches off at the wall, as they think it saves energy when something is plugged into it even if it's not on (e.g. a toaster).that's fking stupid.

thanks for any input guys. if i think of any more questions, i'll post them.
need a reply pronto if possible!

cheers

Ross.

Ross

1. It depends whether the council have asked you to seperate out the recyclates. They may have a facility with automated optical sorting and therefore it doesn't matter if it is mixed but they may have a very simple facility that is more efficient if the goods recieved are already seperated, thus allowing them to bulk process a lot faster.

2. The reason they ask for clear bags is so they can see what is in them. If they see that a bag contains food waste or a stream that can't be processed by their MRF then they will simply direct it to disposal. Sending waste in unclear bags will either slow them down as they have to open them or result in a higher residual diposal cost as they may not have the resource to open each unclear bag.

[E21_Ross]

sleep envy said:

well done

you're showing some fantastic social and diplomacy skills

you have no idea what it's like with these people... i have tried. it's usually a snotty note for no reason to me, followed by a cocky note from me showing them the error of their ways.

[BertB]

E21_Ross said:

sleep envy said:

well done

you're showing some fantastic social and diplomacy skills

you have no idea what it's like with these people... i have tried. it's usually a snotty note for no reason to me, followed by a cocky note from me showing them the error of their ways.

Do you have a garden? I'm thinking you either need a new patio or some raised beds to grow tomatoes on.

[E21_Ross]

BertB said:

E21_Ross said:

sleep envy said:

well done

you're showing some fantastic social and diplomacy skills

you have no idea what it's like with these people... i have tried. it's usually a snotty note for no reason to me, followed by a cocky note from me showing them the error of their ways.

Do you have a garden? I'm thinking you either need a new patio or some raised beds to grow tomatoes on.

they just said "well, we've been sorting it all year long"

i said "well, you can keep doing that, but i'm not going to waste my time"

Edited by E21_Ross on Wednesday 24th March 14:10

[E21_Ross]

pistonheads: pissing off green-nazi housemates and showing them the error of their ways matters

[Penny-lope]

Rude-boy said:

ewenm said:

Check your local council website.

It's the only way to be sure!

if that doesn't work call their Recycling Officer.

Every council is different. Ours allows us to put all recycling into one blue bin, save for food and garden waste which goes in a green one and 'landfill' which goes in a grey one!

Yep, and here we have to put paper/cardboard in one bin, and only garden waste in another (no food allowed). Some properties also get a plastic/glass box too.

[JRM]

E21_Ross said:

2 - we don't have a recycling bin, we just have 1 bin for non-recyclables and we have to put bags outside containing the recycling. they give us clear plastic bags, but often i just put my recycling in sainsbury's bags (after all....they still have to empty the other bags). my flat mates asked me to 'sort it out' now. but i can't see the point, since there are no separate bins, surely it all has to get sorted at the same place? i don't mind recycling, but i don't like doing stuff for no reason whatsoever. i posted another thread a while ago, these people turn the switches off at the wall, as they think it saves energy when something is plugged into it even if it's not on (e.g. a toaster).that's fking stupid.

So when the recycling truck comes round, rather than the general waste lorry, how do they know that your Sainsburys bag has recylcing material in it rather than normal waste? That's the point of those special bags. So I think your flat mate is right to tell you to sort it out and put it in the right bag in the first place, otherwise it'll just head straight to the landfill.

As to switching things off at the wall, they could be right on that as well, depending what is plugged in, if the device has an transformer on it somewhere it could still be using up energy without the end device being on. It would be a tiny amount though, so I never bother.

[SystemParanoia]

JRM said:

E21_Ross said:

2 - we don't have a recycling bin, we just have 1 bin for non-recyclables and we have to put bags outside containing the recycling. they give us clear plastic bags, but often i just put my recycling in sainsbury's bags (after all....they still have to empty the other bags). my flat mates asked me to 'sort it out' now. but i can't see the point, since there are no separate bins, surely it all has to get sorted at the same place? i don't mind recycling, but i don't like doing stuff for no reason whatsoever. i posted another thread a while ago, these people turn the switches off at the wall, as they think it saves energy when something is plugged into it even if it's not on (e.g. a toaster).that's fking stupid.

So when the recycling truck comes round, rather than the general waste lorry, how do they know that your Sainsburys bag has recylcing material in it rather than normal waste? That's the point of those special bags. So I think your flat mate is right to tell you to sort it out and put it in the right bag in the first place, otherwise it'll just head straight to the landfill.

As to switching things off at the wall, they could be right on that as well, depending what is plugged in, if the device has an transformer on it somewhere it could still be using up energy without the end device being on. It would be a tiny amount though, so I never bother.

get out...

[sleep envy]

what's the point? it only goes into a land fill in any case

[E21_Ross]

JRM said:

E21_Ross said:

2 - we don't have a recycling bin, we just have 1 bin for non-recyclables and we have to put bags outside containing the recycling. they give us clear plastic bags, but often i just put my recycling in sainsbury's bags (after all....they still have to empty the other bags). my flat mates asked me to 'sort it out' now. but i can't see the point, since there are no separate bins, surely it all has to get sorted at the same place? i don't mind recycling, but i don't like doing stuff for no reason whatsoever. i posted another thread a while ago, these people turn the switches off at the wall, as they think it saves energy when something is plugged into it even if it's not on (e.g. a toaster).that's fking stupid.

So when the recycling truck comes round, rather than the general waste lorry, how do they know that your Sainsburys bag has recylcing material in it rather than normal waste? That's the point of those special bags. So I think your flat mate is right to tell you to sort it out and put it in the right bag in the first place, otherwise it'll just head straight to the landfill.

As to switching things off at the wall, they could be right on that as well, depending what is plugged in, if the device has an transformer on it somewhere it could still be using up energy without the end device being on. It would be a tiny amount though, so I never bother.

when they say 'sort it out' i can assure you they mean sorting between plastics, cardboard and so on. i phoned up the recycling centre and they said it's not necessary since it all gets sorted here.

secondly, i know transformers consume energy. i'm talking about things like a toaster with no led light on it, no clock, nothing at all when it's off. the same as with the kettle here. i ended up proving them wrong by buying a power meter (plug it into the wall, then plug said appliance into the power meter) it measured 0 after like 3 hours.

yet they still insist the switches be switched off