Your Questions About Recycling
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Filed under Recycling Q & A
Robert asks…
Should this become mandatory, and do you think it will?
Should this be made obligatory in the UK?
While living in Belgium and Switzerland during 2001/2002, I noticed the difference in the recycling and garbage disposal laws.
When binning our household rubbish, we had to use colour-coded bins for different types: a yellow bin for packaging, a blue bin for paper and cardboard, bins for glass, and another for leftover food. Of course, we also had the black bin for the rest (or for those too lazy to sort out their rubbish, who ended up getting fined for it most of the time).
At first I found the system difficult to get used to because, as an Englishwoman, it was alien to me. I think it was a good idea though, and it certainly made me more environmentally aware.
As UK recycling stats are still far behind the continental countries, should we bring in the same laws here? (I know lots of us DO recycle, I am one of them, but I’m on about making it mandatory.)
srracvuee – firstly, I’m nobody’s Mrs, and never will be if I’m lucky (better not mention that to my fiance though).
Secondly, I am simply asking a question. Oddly enough, the goverment don’t consult me personally on their policy formation.
Finally: if we are so ”capable” of recycling through choice, then how do you explain the FACT that the UK’s 2006 recycling record is one of the worst in Europe??? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20060828/ai_n16696494
Heather – very well put!
Betty, jizzi – I lived in a flat in both Belgium and the Netherlands, my mother lived in a flat in Switzerland. In Switzerland, the apartment block shared a rubbish chute for normal rubbish, and kept the bins in a room downstairs.
How do you think they manage in the Netherlands where there is even less space? Like this. We kept small bins in the flats – not big binbags, apart from for the normal rubbish. The paper and cardboard laid flat in a tray type container. On top of that, we’d have a crate for glass etc (which we had to take to the bottle bank.) The food went into a small bucket style bin. Each block of flats had its own big bins to share, where we’d take the contents of our household bins. They would be picked up weekly by two different collectors. Same in Belgium. Same in Switzerland. It isn’t difficult.
I live in Herts, and in my town we have a weekly collection for recycling and for rubbish. It wouldn’t be different.
The Expert answers:
Only if the council set up the infrastructure to deal with all these different bins.
At the moment they cant even cope with plastic bottles. (well not where I live in North London)
Chris asks…
need help with my english.?
In Belize there is no good garbage disposal or recycling of garbage. In san Ignacio town the garbage is picked up twice a week Monday and Thursday. During that time the garbage piles up and are usually turned over the next day by the neighbor hood dogs. As the garbage is collected it goes to a main disposal landscape, which causes a lot of pollution and is not disposed correctly.
It has always been this way for the town of san Ignacio and the road to benque where the garbage collected is dumped and disposed of.
The Expert answers:
Your paragraph should read.
In Belize there is not a good place to dispose of or recycle garbage. In the town of San Ignacio garbage is picked up on the Monday and Thursday of every week. When the garbage is collected it is sent to the landfill; the landfill causes a lot of pollution and is not disposed of correctly.
I am not too sure about the last sentence I would get rid of that one if I were you. I think in the paragraph it is understood what you are writing about. I got rid of the sentence with the dogs since it did not relate heavily to the subject, and thus is unnecessary.
If you need help with your english just give me an e-mail. I am sure you are smart it just takes a little reading and writing to get the hang of it.
Donald asks…
Recycling…?
I was watching this show on this young couple that claimed they only ever have 2 bags of garbage a year! They have a garbage disposal for left over food, and if it’s not recycable (i.e. bottles, newspaper/cardboard) they don’t buy it. Does anyone else practice recycling this much? Made me think that I’m not doing enough!
The Expert answers:
Not to that degree i even was studying enviormental science for a year before i changed majors
i have two bags of garbage at most i recyle cans for my little brother who saves them for the school and they money goes to charity
seems impossible
Jenny asks…
Can someone please help me with recycling questions?
Okay, so I admit to not being the best contributor to the environment but I had a few opinions that my boyfriend’s family threw at me from left field and have left me completely stumped. So here are a few very dumb questions that I would like to know.
First off. The yard waste, can you put food products in it and should you? (general things that wouldn’t fit down the garbage disposal)
Second. Does question one vary from state to state or is it pretty much count in every state. I just temporally moved back to Portland for example and my bf & his family live Seattle, and there they say you have to recycle food products in the yard waste in Washington.
Third: Things that “could” be recycled like plastics, tin foil, glass jars, cat food cans, have to be washed out completely before it’s recycled right? What if it’s unsaveable like a piece of tin foil that’s way far gone. Do you trash it or try cleaning it off still and then recycling it?
Four. Are the lids on cat food cans recyclable? (they’re metal)
and Five: Unrelated question but do eggs HAVE to be refrigerated or is that just a recommendation? (It’s an on going argument with my mom that I say they have to but I’d like more solid facts on why)
Thanks again for everyone’s help. I know a lot of the questions are like… are you serious? But I’m honestly stumped.
The Expert answers:
The folks at Portland Metro should be able to answer all your recycling questions. I am not sure about the eggs…
NEED ASSISTANCE?
Metro Recycling Information
503-234-3000
mri@oregonmetro.gov
Thomas asks…
Why do Americans consume so many natural resources?
I know that America has a greater economy than many other nations, but why is it that we all could easily be helping the environment by being conservative, but many choose not to. Why are Americans so much more ignorant that the rest of the world that the ice caps are melting right before their eyes? Many Americans choose to waste things by not recycling and putting their food wastes in garbage disposals. As an American myself, it makes me very angry that the country I live in is so ignorant.
The Expert answers:
Look at how we market ourselves to the rest of the world, we are the land of milk and honey, come to America and live the American Dream, where everyone should be able to buy a house etc, Look at our TV shows, our commercials etc. We are being brainwashed by the media. Our own President told us to go spend money we didn’t have to save the economy. We don’t have a strong economy, it is based on people buying things, that is an unsustainable practice, especially when we are shipping all our jobs to other countries to bring down the cost of things so we can buy more. We have fallen victim to our own propaganda and we have some lifestyle adjustments to make if we are going to come out stronger on the other end.
The best thing we can do is to buy less, and when you need to look for Made in the USA. We need to bring manufacturing back to the US and the only way we will is to become aware of what we are buying. Support your local economy and buy your food from local farmers, it will taste better and have more nutrition.
We are only as ignorant as we allow ourselves to be, many of us who complain about what is going on aren’t active in the causes we believe in. It’s time to quit waiting for the change and become part of the change we want to see happen. Vote, write to your elected officials, become active in any groups that you feel are working toward your goals, become active in your community and let people know what changes you want to see, but plan on doing some of the work yourself.
Susan asks…
How do I dispose of my cds?
Do i throw them out in the garbage, or recycling bin, i was also wondering if the white and paperish cd cases are throwin in the recycling bin or garbage can.
P.S; given my current situation i only want to know if i can dispose of them personally, i dont want any companies or third parties invovled with the disposal; just good old fashioned garbage can or recycling bin.
Thank you
The Expert answers:
Just break the CD’s in two pieces and throw them away, after you break then there is no possible way to read them again.
Laura asks…
can u check my essay please. need help with grammer?
In Belize there is not a good place to dispose of or recycle garbage. In the town of San Ignacio garbage is picked up on the Monday and Thursday of every week. When the garbage is collected it is sent to the landfill; the landfill causes a lot of pollution and is not disposed of correctly.
Belize is young and it can fix these problems with the way garbage is dealt with. For Belize to correct its problem, it needs to start small. The san Ignacio Town and the Benque Road is a good example on how to deal with garbage disposal. In San Ignacio Cox is a company that picks up the garbage twice a week, but the amount of garbage a family produce is way more than expected, the businesses produces twice as much as the family produce, and the garbage just piles up and are scattered across the streets by the dogs. Cox should collect the garbage three times a week, but even that wouldn’t help on a large scale, they need more trucks to pick the trash faster.
If cox collects the garbage on time and frequently the pollution in Town can be limited, and maybe be pollution free with some help with recycling if the government should implement it in Belize.
cox can’t be blamed for the pollution in the San Ignacio area. The daily pedestrian who dumps their trash on the streets, since there is no garbage drums along the street side. The Town Board should at least place a few drums along the street side to avoid the liter from foreign pedestrian and local pedestrian. On the benque road where the garbage is dumped it is burned in the open and the smoke pollution fills streets, and atmosphere. Belize should look into a means for proper disposal of the garbage.
Cox should invest in more trucks and invest some of the profits from collecting garbage into building a big oven to burn the trash. It may sound the same as burning it outside of the oven, but the science behind it is beneficial. In the big oven the smoke created from burning the garbage will be redirected from the burning area to one vent, which will spin a small wind turbine and produce energy to be used. After the fumes passes the turbine it goes through some filters, which cleans the smoke. It is then release out very low in pollution than it would if it was just burnt.
The Expert answers:
Belize is not a good place to dispose of or recycle garbage. In the town of San Ignacio, the garbage is picked up on Monday and Thursday of every week. When the garbage is collected it is sent to the landfill, however the landfill creates a lot of pollution and the garbage is not disposed of correctly. Since Belize is young, it could fix these rubbish problems, but the country needs to start small.
The city of San Ignacio and the Benque Road is an example of how not to deal with garbage disposal. Garbage is retreived twice per week in San Ignacio by the Cox company, but the massive amounts of garbage produced by each family exceeds the capacity of the landfill. The city’s businesses produce twice as much waste as the residential district, therefore the garbage piles up and is scattered across the streets by neighborhood dogs. A solution could be submitted for the Cox company to collect the garbage three times a week instead of twice, but it may be too little too late. The trucks simply need to pick up the trash faster.
If Cox collects the trash both timely and frequently, perhaps the pollution in San Ignacio would be limited. The government should implement a recycling program to both residents and businesses, which would create less pollution for Belize.
Obvioulsy, Cox isn’t to blame for all of the waste in the San Ignacio area. The finger points to daily pedestrians who dump trash on the streets, since there are no garbage drums available along the sidewalks. The city’s committee should place a few wastecans along the streets in order to avoid the abundance of litter from tourists and locals who just don’t seem to care. On the Benque Road, for example – the garbage is dumped and burned openly, creating smoke and pollution within the streets. Belize should consider a better means for proper disposal of the garbage.
Alternatively, Cox could invest in more garbage trucks and perhaps use some of its profits from collecting garbage to build an incinerator for the trash. The benefits of doing so are scientific. For one, the compost from the burning waste could then be redirected from the burning area to one vent, which will spin a small wind turbine and produce energy that could be used by the city’s inhabitants. After the fumes pass through the turbine and seep through the built-in filters, the smoke would be cleaner and would remit far less pollution than if the rubbish was simply burnt.
Steven asks…
Trash Disposal Laws in Alabama – Please Help?
I bought a 4 acre home in Alabama (zip code 36352) which is only about 5 miles from a small landfill and outside any city limits. Im single and so I dont produce much trash. I burn all my burnable trash in a legal Burn Barrel and recycle my plastic and aluminum. Anything else I just load up and take to the landfill. After about 2 months or so of living here I got a bill for garbage disposal even though Id never used it, didnt need it, and hadnt asked for it. I called the disposal company that sent the bill and was informed by the woman on the phone that I HAD to pay them (the only disposal company here, and who charge twice as much as anywhere else Ive ever been) theyre high trash fees because it was the law in Alabama that EVERYONE must have trash service. The woman was extremely rude as well as smug and informed me that if I didnt pay the bill and all future bills that they would hand it over to a collection service and etc etc. Ive never heard of this law before and I cant seem to find it or any information on it anywhere.
Can Anyone help me with this and show me this law as it is written. Id like to know if I need to just turn this over to a lawyer or just swallow my pride and pay these crooks.
Thanks to anyone who can help or has any legitimate advice.
The Expert answers:
If there’s a “trash disposal law” it’s a city or county ordinance. There’s probably a local government information line you can call.
Usually bills you *have* to pay come as one city or county utility bill, so it’s worth asking about. But if so, at least you can stop making trips to the dump.
If not, send them a professional letter disputing the charge, and then dispute it with the collection agency, the credit bureaus, and, finally, in court, as it becomes necessary.
John asks…
List as many services as you can think of.?
I’ve to keep a service journal for class and I’m running out of ideas of services that we encounter (on a regular basis). So far: I have about 50 e.g.
General sanitation services
Housing, Room Rental
Network services: Internet
Social networking e.g. facebook
Street lighting
Road maintenance
Telephone/ Messaging Services
Electricity
Classes e.g. access to professors’ professional skills
Library books rental
Grocery Delivery
After-sales Telephone Support for software
Online Auction – matching seller with buyer
Checkout in supermarket
Grocery bag packing
Public Transportation
Cleaning – housekeeper
Hotel Reservations
Skype – telephone service
Recycling Services
Refuse/ Garbage Disposal
Mail Sorting
Online banking
Dinning Hall – Catering Services
ATM- Money withdrawal, deposits
UPS – Postal Services
Custom made computer order & sales services
Getting a quote – quotation services
Paypal – funds transfer
Subscription Services e.g. newspaper
Pizza order & delivery
Tailoring
Elevator Repair Service
a/v Rental
Information Hotline
Self service salad bar
Fast food restaurants
Website Hosting
Plumber
Concierge Service
Valet Service
Room Service – Hotel
Hotel check in and check out
Electrician
The Expert answers:
You have a big list, have any of these?:
Hair salon
Dry Cleaning
Beauty salon (in general)
Cosmetic surgery
Laundry service
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