Spare A Thought Please.

[Dale.]

This time of year, fresh, mixed nuts and also tangerines, satsumas, oranges etc will come in those orange, plastic net bags. I hate them, the potential for wildlife to get caught up in them when disposed of by us is a real threat.

We can't recycle them here, they're not accepted, so they have to go in the general waste. I'm not sure why not as they are plastic.

I'm not sure of the best way to dispose of them but I have come up with a simple method, that at least goes some way to alleviating the problem. I roll them straight, then tie as many knots in them as I can. I then roll that into a ball and then bind it with tape.

I realise this isn't ideal, I'm still introducing plastic, as well as tape into landfill. It does though at least prevent our wild beasties getting caught up in them, which can kill them. This is my method and the best I've come up with so far. Cutting them up or burning them is damaging too, I think my method is less damaging but......

I'm open to hear improvements on this or other ways.

Please spare a thought. I thought I'd mention it as those net/mesh bags are a menace after we've finished with them and they find their way to the countryside from landfill.

Thanks and have a great Christmas.

 

[Gav.]

I'm with you, I hate plastic nets, ties, bags, gloves etc.. I tie things in knots too

 

[sk66]

This was netting from an 8ft christmas tree... Expose plastic netting to high heat and it shrivels up instantly; not a perfect solution because it's still a lump of plastic, but no longer an immediate danger. It works just as well on tangles of fishing line too.

 

[Box Brownie]

@Dale.

As you say no perfect household disposal solution.

Landfill grey bin for such items ......so ours goes either into the pedal bin liner but perhaps more often will go into the cardboard goats milk carton (yes, I know they are recyclable) but they do retain such smaller items. Once full they go into the pedal bin liner and hence into the grey bin.

As you say/infer it is all about reducing the chances of such small items not entering the open environment....as best we can.

FWIW the only thing that we buy in such nets is citrus fruit once a week.

PS one pet hate ~ we do but bottled water but not all supermarkets wrap them (large 1.5 or 2 litre bottles in 4's) in non recyclable shrink-wrap. I have been meaning to take issue with 'them' about it!

PPS "Terracycle" almost impossible to economically get that recycled!

 

[LongLensPhotography]

This was netting from an 8ft christmas tree... Expose plastic netting to high heat and it shrivels up instantly; not a perfect solution because it's still a lump of plastic, but no longer an immediate danger. It works just as well on tangles of fishing line too.

View attachment 376989

All good but sadly it uses energy and gets nothing out. They need to be burnt for heat. Like the rest of not-so-recyclable plastic that all ends up in the oceans.

 

[sk66]

All good but sadly it uses energy and gets nothing out. They need to be burnt for heat.

I'm not trying to heat my house or cook with it...
But our discard waste all goes to an incinerator for generating electricity... well equipped with scrubbers and all, but I'm not entirely certain it's really better.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

But our discard waste all goes to an incinerator for generating electricity... well equipped with scrubbers and all, but I'm not entirely certain it's really better.

That's right. But there is a massive problem to it the way it is being done. We throw wet food waste together with these plastics and therefore burning doesn't produce any net gain or may even need energy input and that is again pretty harmful. When will our super "clever" councils realise food waste and non-recyclable burnable items need to be collected separately?

 

[Box Brownie]

That's right. But there is a massive problem to it the way it is being done. We throw wet food waste together with these plastics and therefore burning doesn't produce any net gain or may even need energy input and that is again pretty harmful. When will our super "clever" councils realise food waste and non-recyclable burnable items need to be collected separately?

Our food waste is collected separately........unless of course it gets combined/mixed 'downstream'

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

When will our super "clever" councils realise food waste and non-recyclable burnable items need to be collected separately?

In East Devon we've been doing that for years.

Every household gets a box for food waste, another for cardboard, paper, glass and other recyclables, a seperate sack for hard plastics and metals and a bin or sack for non-recyclables. The latter gets collected every few weeks and the rest weekly.

We're big on recycling down here in the "wild" west...

 

[Dale.]

In East Devon we've been doing that for years.

Every household gets a box for food waste, another for cardboard, paper, glass and other recyclables, a seperate sack for hard plastics and metals and a bin or sack for non-recyclables. The latter gets collected every few weeks and the rest weekly.

We're big on recycling down here in the "wild" west...

View attachment 377040

I want a general waste bin like that.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Not in worcestershire, or anywhere in WM by the looks of it. Green bin - "recyclable", black all the rest and a few people pay extra for garden waste bin. And they even had the audacity to send a magazine early last year detailing how they just burn the whole lot and how wasteful it is. At least they were being honest

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

I want a general waste bin like that.

They're currently arguing whether they should replace the big general waste lorries with smaller trucks or keep the current ones and do double the collections with the existing fleet. One way or another, that'll end in tears!

 

[ancient_mariner]

In Cherwell we have 4 bins. Green for general waste (gets incinerated for energy) blue for recycling, small silver grey for food and brown (paid for) to take garden waste. There's much less use of landfill these days.

If you drive down the M40 after dark you will see the 'eye of Sauron' that is the incinerator chimney near junction 10.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Talk about idiots...

I think burning food waste definitely takes the trophy

 

[Cobra]

Here in MK
Green bin for garden & food waste, gets turned into mulch and re-sold. ( some places its free)
The green bin is free.
Black bags (we have to buy our own) for non recyclables, either landfill or incinerator, depending on which is cheapest at the time.
Clear bags ( free) for recyclables.

But that is set to change next year 4 bins, 1 x rubbish 2 x recycling and 1 x garden & food.