I just watched a news item that Iain recorded for me last week about the Governments u-turn on forcing weekly bin collections. It really angers me when people refuse to take responsibility for the rubbish they're producing and sending to landfill. There was a man on this news item whose bin was being collected by the local council every fortnight and he was paying to have another bin collected every fortnight by a private company as he was producing so much waste. Maggots, and bin bags left on the street that were ripped open by dogs were his excuses.
At no point did it seem to occur to him that he was responsible for any of this. That maybe he ought to look at what he was throwing out and try and reduce it so he didn't fill his bin up and have to resort to using bin bags as well. The official word on maggots is they need longer than 2 weeks to hatch. I'm not sure about that, but I do know he must be getting them because he has food waste in his bin. Some food waste is unavoidable, but it shouldn't be much and if it's well wrapped up there shouldn't be a problem. Again, people refusing to alter their behaviour and take responsibility.
I'd be quite happy to change to fortnightly bin collections - it makes sense to me to collect the rubbish one week and the recycling the next. The Refuse Collectors usually put next door's rubbish together with mine every week so they only have one bin to haul up the road! I try to be aware of excess packaging and not bring it into the house in the first place. I recycle whatever the council collects in the recycle bin. Food waste is minimal - I'm the only person in the house who ever leaves food on the plate and either Iain or the dog finishes it off for me! Other stuff is re-used or taken to the charity shop or finds another home somewhere. Last Christmas we didn't have our bins collected for nearly 3 weeks. Ours wasn't even full. One house across the street had 15 bin liners full of rubbish standing alongside their bin (yes, I stood and counted them, I couldn't help it!) and there are only 3 of them in the family!
But still I could do more. I need to get my compost up and running again for a start. I'll be looking at ways I can reduce my rubbish even further from now on. Landfill is limited and so are resouces. We shouldn't be squandering them
my sentiments exactly! our garbage comes twice a week, but we only put out twice a month. most of our food scraps are composted or given to the dog, and anything recycable goes to the recycle center. there is no excuse for creating so much trash!
ReplyDeleteI agree, ours gets picked up once a fornight, we have one bin for recycling and one for regular junk. Anything else gets composted or fed to the chooks.
ReplyDeleteWhere i live there is a bin for recyclables...so that is easy. We try to buy in bulk to cut down packaging. We try to reuse containers and opt to buy in glass if we can rather than plastic for this reason. All food scraps are either fed to the chickens, the goats, the dog or end up in the compost. Our 'rubbish' bin goes out about once a month...but even then it is not full. We also send old clothes to charity bins...if they are decent, or use them as rags, or dog beds if not. We also buy a lot of our clothes from op shops. Oh dear, I sound like I have everything down pat...I don't but we are trying. Congratulations on your efforts to go greener.
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