recycling

bellybabe · Post by **bellybabe** » 19 Mar 2004, 21:11

I figured this thread was getting off the topic of the prom and paddling pool (and dog dirt!) so thought i'd start a new thread.

Carla wrote:yes I recycle plastic bags too especially when I had a cat - amazingly useful for dog and cat poo - but I do wonder where they all end up - not obsessed with plastic bags honest, but biodegradable ones might be better (anyone know?) - maybe we can use some in some sort of artistic sculpture against the store (temporary ofcourse not to offend anyone!) - C

Plastic bags are terrible and I often refuse them in shops when only buying small items, or when i already have a large bag from somewhere else. But one of the things that gets to me a lot is that there are areas of recycling high in people's awareness - bottles, cans, newspapers (although unlike Carol lost in the foot of Bath St twilight zone, we on Mentone Avenue can't even have blue recycling bags - we have asked and been told we have to wait. As an aside, my partner commented after phoning the council about it on how they make you feel you're begging them for a favour when I believe THEY are the ones with recycling targets to reach and therefore it is in fact US doing THEM a favour whilst choosing to try and save some of our environment!)

But what about the areas where people have little or no awareness? Or simply find recycling too inconvenient? I plead guilty - have created a nappy mountain over the years and so on, neglected to buy recycled paper because it would have been inconvenient to find at the time etc... But what about sanitary care? Quote: "We women spend an average 6.5 years of our lives bleeding. Most women in the world have no access to the luxury of disposable sanitary towels and tampons (sanpro) but the average woman in the 'developed' world uses about 10,000 such items during her life." (www.wen.org.uk/sanpro/sanpro.htm) I don't know anyone else who doesn't use them. I think part of the problem is that most of us won't talk much about this aspect of our lives, but contrary to Surrealist's impression, I don't need liberating and am happy to shoot my mouth off about it! Education has a lot to do with it, i think - it's not so long ago that i didn't know there were alternatives, just as we don't need to use disposable nappies.

Just giving food for thought. WEN is a very good site for all sorts of things to do with the environment.

Anyway, it's friday night, it's two years today since my family won an important court case, and there's glass of wine waiting for me so i'll get off my wee soapbox now!

Paula

GG · Post by GG » 21 Mar 2004, 09:30

I liked reading your message, Paula. I too am concerned by the difficulties when trying to recycle. I have various separate plastic bags near my bucket in my kitchen all full of different items for recycling. When I run out of space and have some time to spare I take them to my nearest recycle points. This includes taking severl plastic bottles, all washed, de-capped, sticker-less, crushed and ready to go... only to find the recycle bins full, overflowing and surrounded by other bottles. At times it does appear to be quite difficult to recycle.

I contacted LEEP (www.leep.org.uk or LeepRecycling@leep.org.uk). LEEP Recycling operates a range of recycling sites in Edinburgh and East Lothian. 'Too Good To Waste' is a comprehensive guide to recycling and reuse in Scotland that can be obtained free of charge by e-mail request. Perhaps you have heard of it. A new edition was launched on March 17th 2003 at The City Chambers, Edinburgh.

I find the LEEP guide very helpful but continue to search out recycle bins that my items can fit into!

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 09 Apr 2005, 20:15

An update!

According to the abovementioned LEEP website we can now recycle plastic, cardboard, milk cartons, egg cartons, etc at the Pitz/Leisure Centre carpark - more info >>>Reduce Reuse Recycle

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 09 Apr 2005, 22:58

I recently became the proud owner of a LEEP recycled plastic compost bin for a fiver

Now busy shouting at the kids to stop eating the fruit and veg so that I can recycle it in the bin

Gemini · Post by **Gemini** » 09 Apr 2005, 23:34

We have just been informed that each resident in the street will be issued with a 'brown garden waste bin' we already have our wheelie bins and many of us have composting bins. We have our blue bags for papers and the like - we should not complain I know, but, how many bins can we cope with? gardens to the front of cottages are not very big. We think that perhaps a few of larger containers for garden refuge, strategically postioned along the street would be much more sensible - and more cost effective. But hey what do we know - we only live here.

BTW 2 to 3 weeks ago, I made the usual trip to seafield amenity site, about 4 large bags of various cardboard/plastic etc, only to be told the recycling area was being relocated ( so even before they had the new recycling area organised - they had just closed off the existing recycling area) I was told to dump the stuff (apart from glass) into the ordinary containers that go to landfill

There does appear to be a serious lack of recycling areas in Portobello, as mentioned there is one at the Pitz - but basic - paper/glass

Lizzie · Post by **Lizzie** » 10 Apr 2005, 09:03

Gemini wrote:
There does appear to be a serious lack of recycling areas in Portobello, as mentioned there is one at the Pitz - but basic - paper/glass

Cans as well Gemini

Obviously they're not in Portobello but Safeway up at Piershill have a recycling area, also Big W and Asda too

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 10 Apr 2005, 10:30

Lizzie wrote:
Gemini wrote:
There does appear to be a serious lack of recycling areas in Portobello, as mentioned there is one at the Pitz - but basic - paper/glass
Cans as well Gemini
Obviously they're not in Portobello but Safeway up at Piershill have a recycling area, also Big W and Asda too

Plastic, cardboard, etc, too - see my post above!!!

PS I understood from the chaps at the dump that Seafield was being refurbished rather than relocated?

Maria · Post by **Maria** » 10 Apr 2005, 12:50

Have to confess I'm pretty neglectful when it comes to recycling.
I used to use the 'blue bag' paper collection but found that on windy days the empty bag would be long gone before I arrived home, merely adding to litter somewhere else in Porty. In addition, if the lorry appeared in the afternoon (after lunchbreak for the PHS kids) Sunday supplements etc. would be strewn all over the street, the blue bags having been kicked/thrown/emptied by various kids.

We faithfully make our generous weekly deposit at the bottle bank, but I always think it a rather futile gesture. Think of all the energy it must take to melt all that glass down again. Why can't we be like several other countries, pay a deposit and then return our standardised bottles to be simply washed out prior to reuse?
Please excuse me if I've posted this previously. It's Sunday and I'm feeling too lazy to check for myself

BTW Gemini I'd love to have a garden refuse bin. Hopefully they'll get around to my street soon...