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How long before my green bin justifies its existence?

  • 13-03-2008 9:39pm
    #1
    dewsbury
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 441 ✭✭


    Please speculate.

    I have a green bin for paper/metal etc. collect monthly by the council.

    Here is the impossible question..

    If I fill my bin once a month then..

    How long before the use of my bin offsets the damage done by the manufacture of the bin in the first place .. and the fuel used by the lorry that collects the bin and the fact that the paper/metal needs lots of processing before it is re-used etc.

    Basically, I am wondering if my green bin will ever justify itself in terms of environmental benefit.


Comments

  • #2
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 31,118 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    To be honest, except for paper, metal & glass (maybe just glass & presorted paper) it's purly symbolic, remins me of the UK in WWII they collected tons of metal (railings, saucepans etc) for the war effort to make tanks aeroplanes etc and just dumped it!
    But people thought that they were helping!


  • #3
    troutbum
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19 ✭troutbum


    Probably not as long as you think and it certainly isn't just a gesture!

    A few facts on recycled items will help you to do a quick calculation of the benefits and bear in mind that these are just the energy savings without consideration of the value of the material (Aluminium €1/Kg etc) or the landfill being saved.

    One tin can save enough energy to power a television for three hours.
    One glass bottle saves enough energy to power a PC for twenty five minutes.
    One plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a Sixty watt light bulb for three hours.
    Seventy per cent less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from high powered machines with raw materials.


  • #4
    sarahirl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 119 ✭✭sarahirl


    well the waste hierarchy of reduce reuse and recycle could apply here... if you reuse paper for telephone notes/general artistic impressions, reuse cans for plant pots, reduce the amount of plastic bottles you purchase through filling up water at home... there's a book out "cradle to cradle" which is the new sustainable development in terms of buzz words in which the author states that paper shouldn't be used for printing as the recycling process uses so much bleach that it's more harmful for the environment to recycle paper. their book uses some sort of a composite material which means that it can be reused without having to be broken down. don't know how as i haven't got my paws on it yet :D


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