General Recycling help?

[medusa 16]

do you think that actually spoils a whole batch of recycling though surely if it did there would be nothing recycled because not everyones bin in sheffield is going to have everything thats meant to be in there?

 

Mechanised processes separate the cans and glass out from the plastics. After that is done the only thing that should be left is bottles made of PC, PP and PET, which can be recycled together.

 

The inclusion of bottle lids which are not of these compounds or other plastics such as trays, can and will ruin a whole batch of clear plastics, which is why you're meant to not put them in a Sheffield City Council recycling bin.

[Quik 10]

do you think that actually spoils a whole batch of recycling though surely if it did there would be nothing recycled because not everyones bin in sheffield is going to have everything thats meant to be in there?

 

It increases the costs as it has to be manually sorted.

[Snowglobe 10]

maybe the web site should be updated. it mentions nothing about removing lids as far as I can see.

https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/environment/waste/bincollections/bluebins.html

[MLAR 10]

I agree entirely, but that doesn't mean that putting the 'wrong' mix (i.e. a mix for a different recycling system) is the right thing to do.

 

I would really like Sheffield to go down the route of developing recycling further, but it has to be done with the right infrastructure and collections, or all it will do is to ruin what is currently in place.

 

It isn't "Sheffield". The recycling is run by Veolia. They have massive resources and could sort the problem out easily if they wanted to.

 

Horribleblob is right. We should all put all of our plastic waste into the blue bins and let them sort it out. The technology exists to recycle most plastics. Those that can't be recycled can be cracked and reused. Let them get on with it and stop making recycling into a difficult thing to do.

[medusa 16]

It isn't "Sheffield". The recycling is run by Veolia. They have massive resources and could sort the problem out easily if they wanted to.

 

Horribleblob is right. We should all put all of our plastic waste into the blue bins and let them sort it out. The technology exists to recycle most plastics. Those that can't be recycled can be cracked and reused. Let them get on with it and stop making recycling into a difficult thing to do.

 

Veolia operate a different recycling policy in different places, so it's Sheffield's choice rather than Veolia's. I also happen to know the technical consultant who advised the council when going through the process of bringing in the recycling bins, so I know that it was a Sheffield city council decision.

 

I agree wholeheartedly that lots of different plastics COULD be recycled, and I agree that they should be taken to mixed plastics recycling bins at all of the 'bring to' sites around the city, but why should they be put through a process for which they are not suitable?

[MLAR 10]

Veolia operate a different recycling policy in different places, so it's Sheffield's choice rather than Veolia's. I also happen to know the technical consultant who advised the council when going through the process of bringing in the recycling bins, so I know that it was a Sheffield city council decision.

 

I agree wholeheartedly that lots of different plastics COULD be recycled, and I agree that they should be taken to mixed plastics recycling bins at all of the 'bring to' sites around the city, but why should they be put through a process for which they are not suitable?

 

They aren't being put through an unsuitable process by the householder.

 

I have a blue bin for plastic waste. That is what goes into it. The recipients have the facilities to recycle any plastic. That's what should happen.

 

It is simple really. If we want proper recycling, than we have to make it easy for people. I'm sure that Veolia would love bins full of PET. They won't get them though. So they had better start dealing with the other plastics too.

[Quik 10]

They aren't being put through an unsuitable process by the householder.

 

I have a blue bin for plastic waste. That is what goes into it. The recipients have the facilities to recycle any plastic. That's what should happen.

 

It is simple really. If we want proper recycling, than we have to make it easy for people. I'm sure that Veolia would love bins full of PET. They won't get them though. So they had better start dealing with the other plastics too.

 

I hadn't thought about it that way but tbh you make a powerful argument. Not often I change my mind on anything based in interwebs but think I have in this case.

[medusa 16]

They aren't being put through an unsuitable process by the householder.

 

I have a blue bin for plastic waste. That is what goes into it. The recipients have the facilities to recycle any plastic. That's what should happen.

 

It is simple really. If we want proper recycling, than we have to make it easy for people. I'm sure that Veolia would love bins full of PET. They won't get them though. So they had better start dealing with the other plastics too.

 

You have a blue bin for cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles, not for any sort of plastic waste. If you want to put other things in it as a form of protest that is entirely your choice, but you need to know that it isn't likely to change anything apart from causing damage.

[Quik 10]

You have a blue bin for cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles, not for any sort of plastic waste. If you want to put other things in it as a form of protest that is entirely your choice, but you need to know that it isn't likely to change anything apart from causing damage.

 

On one level I agree but given the other plastics can be recycled surely it should make them get on with doing so?

[medusa 16]

On one level I agree but given the other plastics can be recycled surely it should make them get on with doing so?

 

Surely to get them to start introducing facilities to recycle other types of plastics will involve budgeting, practical planning, policy priorities and a whole load of other things including a fundamental change to the processes through which the waste must be put to separate the plastics appropriately? Starting to do this for a city the size of Sheffield just can't be started without some serious planning.

 

Engage with the decision makers, submit a request asking why these plastics aren't recycled in Sheffield, actively take your plastics to a 'bring' station where they CAN be recycled without derailing the current system, campaign for a change in policy, lobby your councillors, start a city wide petition, get a copy of council budgets and find a way of affording the changes needed to implement wider recycling- there are rather a lot of ways to change the policy that are likely to be a whole lot more productive than just doing a one-person protest that actually costs money pointlessly.

[AY1975 11]

Unfortunately there are now fewer local recycling sites than there were a few years ago. That means that I no longer have anywhere to recycle plastics other than plastic bottles anywhere within walking distance, although I do occasionally go near some of the remaining sites (less often at the moment as I'm working from home, though).

 

It's not just plastics that ought to be recyclable but aren't always, although luckily some Co-op supermarkets now have a bin for soft plastics. 

 

I've also often wondered what the position is with metal lids of glass bottles and jars. Some people have told me that it's OK to put glass bottles and jars in your recycling bin or a bottle bank with their lids on, some people have told me that you must remove the lids but you can put them in the same bins at recycling sites as tins and cans, and some people have told me that metal lids aren't recyclable and you have to put them in with your non-recyclable waste.

 

In Germany you can usually put metal bottle and jar lids (and aluminium foil) in with other metals (i.e. tins and cans), so if they can do that, surely so could we.

[Dromedary 166]

1 hour ago, AY1975 said:

Unfortunately there are now fewer local recycling sites than there were a few years ago. 

That may be down to the fact that the EU was subsidising them by giving funds out for them to be able to do recycling under the EU recycling initiative. Paying companies to carry out recycling is a bit counter productive and not very cost effective and thats why its sometimes sounds a good idea but really it's not.