On Sat, 3 Apr 2004 19:47:22 +0100, "IMM" wrote:


"Pete C" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 3 Apr 2004 09:50:47 +0100, "IMM" wrote:

Last week a North London borough said it will fine people who do not
re-cycle.

Any references to this?

On TV an expert was arguing the point that re-cycling as a waste
of time and uneconomical. He said that burning the waste is the best
option
all around: landfill, reduces fossil fuel usage, local heating of houses,
etc, and that emissions are well within the regs pointing to the defra
web
site. His argument was well reasoned.

I would have thought recycling glass bottles and aluminium cans saves
more energy than created by incinerating them, even recycling paper is
likely to give a net energy saving. Also it's hard to see how
incinerating something can create less landfill than recycling it,
which creates no landfill at all. Did the 'experts' well reasoned
argument cover all this....?

Yes. They only have to find a landfill for the ashes of the waste which is
very small in comparison. The waste incinerators have metal sifting
mechanisms anyhow and this is recycled via the incinerator.

I still fail to see how incinerating glass, metal and paper saves more
energy and landfill than recycling it. It may be worth doing
alongside recycling but it's not best option by any means.

Also I wouldn't like to live downwind of an incinerator no matter how
good the emissions are supposed to be. All those Ni Cad batteries
going up in smoke, mmmmm.....

cheers,
Pete.