"Owain" wrote in message ...
"mich" wrote
| "David Hearn" wrote
| So, how do people cope?
| Simple. Don't bother. The vast majority of recycling schemes are
| bunk.
| Local Authorities are required to significantly reduce the amount
| put into landfills. If people refuse to recycle, even when systems
| are in place, that's bad. Even if it costs the taxpayer more money,
| its still necessary as they have to recycle more and landfill less.
| Besides, if local authorities don't reduce landfill, they'll lose
| funding from the Government, which means taxes go up even more...

But if the LAs lose funding from the Govt, local taxes might rise but
central taxes should drop correspondingly, so the overall tax burden should
stay the same. (It won't of course.)

| So much for the discussion about the importance or not of the ecological
| issue but the reality is no one will recycle anything when it has to sit
| reeking around a kitchen for weeks on end now will they?

The answer is for businesses to cut the amount of excess product packaging
at source, and have all waste packaging returned to the retailer for
re-use/recycle wherever possible. But they won't do that unless the Govt
makes them, and the Govt prefers to put the burden on the individual
householder.

If the Govt mandated the use of deposit glass bottles for all drinks that
would reduce the plastic and aluminium that needs to be disposed of from
milk bottles and cola cans, and a similar scheme should encourage brewers to
reuse beer bottles rather than pubs sending them for cullet.

Owain

Where I am at present glass beer bottles have a deposit, but also
plastic cola/lemonde bottles as well, (e.g., the 2 litre sort) so
there is no need to change the packaging at all, merely! impose a
charge and set up the recovery infrastructure. Here the supermarkets
typically have a machine where you feed the bottles, plastic or glass,
through a hole where they are electronically inspected, and a reciept
issued that is honoured at the checkout till. These machines also
have a small conveyor that will take a beercrate and the bottles,
inspect them, and put the refund on the reciept. So crates, plastic
and glass deposit bottles can all be automatically accepted.
Somewhere in the back of the store these are kept for collection.

People here also separate the non deposit glass and paper and put them
in at collection points. We have biological collection - green bin -
and other - grey bin collection alternate weeks, and blue (paper) once
a month. However to have alternate week collection without the bins
would be rather nasty, the biological kitchen refuse plus grass
cuttings etc get a bit off in the summer.

We also have a special smart ID card to use the local waste site, I am
allowed 200Kg a week there. (you are automatically weighed in and
out) This has been brought in because people from other areas were
visiting the local site to avoid paying in their districts and could
use the old dump for free. Some other local councils in the district
have wheelie bins with identity chips in so they record how much you
are putting into the system and charge accordingly.

Complex isn't it, with a big infrastructure. And, if you were
wondering, this is Holland, only 120 miles away from the UK.

Eric.