Here's the link to an article in Stuff about what items aren't being recycled. Bit of an eye-opener since the local recycling depot bins don't mention any of them on their signs.
I wonder how many people, like me, are wondering whether recycling is actually worth the bother of making a special trip to the collection centre if the list of things not accepted grows and more just ends up in the landfill.
I already have an issue with how much non-recyclable packaging is used these days [!] but these particular ones were news to me.
Cheers, Mich.
Good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help someone up. Anon.
Doesn't surprise me at all about the waxed packaging. I never recycle that sort of container, they are used as my firelighters.
Innovative NZders have shown many times, that lots of things can be recycled a good example being nappies which were turned into compost yet these innovative thinkers never get the help they need to start up a cost effective method of recycling. Guarantee that modern tins with their plastic lining will be difficult to smelt too. NZ should have it's own facility for dealing with the rubbish we all make. If it becomes a home grown product that has to be dealt with onshore, then supermarkets and others like them may realize that creating waste like this is very poor practice.......but then, who wants a recycling establishment in their back yard eh? :rolleyes:.....perhaps they should be attached to prisons. Give the inmates something to do!:rolleyes::rolleyes:
Did you know, that what you thought I said, was not what I meant :S
I overcome the recycling issue by not buying over packaged stuff in the first place.
I dont buy any food in cans [except for the animals when I have no alternative] and definitely nothing sold in plastic or similar trays
I put out recycling every couple of months, compared with most people around here using the fortnightly service,
I make a really conscious decision when purchasing goods
Recycling is a really big issue which I dont think enough people take into account when doing their shopping. I also find it really hard to get my children to recycle stuff properly, They are concerned about the environment, but their rubbish just goes into the easiest place to dispose of it rather than recycling into different types of rubbish
Thanks Mich, I am going to print that out and take it to work as we were just discussing recycling and what can/can't go in the bin (small workplace with enough eco-minded people that everyone goes along with it). Very interesting reading, I learnt a few things.
You're welcome, EV - I dashed off an email to our Council referring them to the link and asking for their comments. Will be intriguing to hear what they say, as their website information conflicts in several areas with the article.
Muri, I'm seriously impressed that you don't buy anything in cans - that's amazing. Good on you. You've inspired me. Is it hard work? Sometimes I feel like just taking goods out of their packing at the shop and leaving it for them to dispose of, LOL.
Stikkibeek - like your thinking!
Cheers, Mich.
Good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help someone up. Anon.
Actually that reminds me. A few years back now, some innovative kiwi was talking about turning the decommissioned Merimeri power station into a recycling place. Their idea was to take Auckland's rubbish via train to Merimeri and sort and burn those things which could be burned, generating power for the national grid, sort and sell those things of value and then use the overhead coal buckets to transport the non recyclable rubbish back to the open cast mines and fill them in again. The idea had a lot of merit and could have been improved upon, but there was no assistance to get the idea off the ground so it faltered. Opportunity lost?
Did you know, that what you thought I said, was not what I meant :S
Muri, I'm seriously impressed that you don't buy anything in cans - that's amazing. Good on you. You've inspired me. Is it hard work? Sometimes I feel like just taking goods out of their packing at the shop and leaving it for them to dispose of, LOL.
Not hard work at all, what do you need that only comes in cans? The only two things that I will sometimes buy in cans are a certain brand of olive
Most canned food is just quick fix food and can be bought in other forms, fresh or uncooked and just require extra work
Mich, what do you think you couldnt do without that only comes in cans?
Stikki, I hadnt heard that idea for recycling but it really makes sense.
Am hoping my kids are coming back to NZ soon, they got invited to australia and did a permaculture design course there. They went a week ahead of time to help set up and spent the time making composting toilets and composting showers. Wouldnt mind them building the same here at my place
You're right, actually. When I thought about it, if I got stuck in and had my garden producing to full capacity all year to enable bottling, freezing etc then probably most of what we need could be sourced from there. And, of course, there's the practice of eating seasonally...
Cheers, Mich.
Good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help someone up. Anon.
there are so many inaccuracies in that article, I don't know where to start...
If people bothered to check with their council or transfer station staff they'd probably find that lots of these items never were wanted, never have been recycled, and are only now being put on to 'not wanted' lists because the numbers are growing and people persist in thinking they are recyclable.
And it's not true that there aren't any recycling facilities in NZ.
I could go on.
Such lazy reporting.
17 Ha lifestyle property in Bay of Plenty... 7 Ha covenanted bush, remainder scrub, hills, and flat.
An update on the response from our local Council that you might find interesting:
The ability of recycling collection businesses to recycle particular items such as plastic bags varies, depending upon the contracts and relationships they have with overseas recycling companies. The article which you referenced on Stuff relates to a recycling collection business in Christchurch, which has not been able to find a recycler who will accept plastic bags. Hutt City Council’s recycling contractor is Transpacific does have a contract with a recycler who is able to recycle plastic bags.
Plastic bottle tops are able to be recycled, but due to their colour and grade these go into a separate recycling stream than the plastic bottles themselves. These are also recycled by Transpacific.
The Environmental Manager at HCC was extremely helpful and happily answered a follow-up question I had.
Cheers, Mich.
Good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help someone up. Anon.
My biggest issue is when freezing food. Plastic bags! Don't like reusing them but hate throwing them out as well. I'm buying solid plastic containers to store stuff in now as an alternative but they don't use the space as effectively. Looking at preserving as an alternative but not always practical for some products. It's a dilemma for sure.
why can aluminum cans not be recycled through the smelter. I would think it would be easy to just melt them down again and run out another batch. I suppose there is more too it??
!] but these particular ones were news to me.
