Can plastic be recycled or not?

MrCostington wrote: »

EDIT my local center "The following charges apply for the disposal of green waste – €2 per 80 litre bag & €16 per 1m ³ skip bag"

I live in an apartment, can't be waiting to fill and store 80 liters of waste. Don't make it easy eh?

This almost certainly refers to garden waste (branches, leaves, grass) not plastic.

We don't do re-cycle properly at all in this country. Unclear info as to what can/can't be recycled, different practices/policies between waste company operators and local authority facilities, different practices/policies between local authorities... why do facilities and practices differ depending on where you live on a small island that has the population of a medium size european city?

There is very little attempt to put pressure on the manufacturers and their distribution chain. All things considered it's a confusing mess of a half arsed job designed to keep waste companies and various regulators in business. See the quote below from Repak, taken from a letter to the press arguing that a glass/plastic bottle deposit return scheme won't work here.... (it did work here before and still does in other countries that have a coherent national waste management policy)

"As a nation, it is important that we place our resources into providing long term solutions, like elimination of over-packaging of materials, reduction in packaging, reuse of packaging, and the creation of a market for plastic recyclables in Ireland and Europe.

Séamus Clancy

Chief Executive Repak Ltd

Cork"

This is what annoys me about quango regulators, advisors, and the vast array of contracted consultant experts that government employs to tell 'we the people' how to act... A great quote Mr Clancy, now get on with it and get it done. Why are you waiting for those of us at the bottom of the distribution chain to force change all the way back up?

It's the same with Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, all they seem to do is report how far behind target we are. If that's the case, then the authority is ineffective, throw it out and try something different.

If these people are not getting co-operation from their overlords, they need to have the gumption to say so and admit that lack of government action is preventing them from doing their jobs.

In short... do something positive to change the situation and stop spouting the bleeding obvious to those of us who already know it.... make it happen or get out of the job.

Del2005 wrote: »

What is the management company supposed to do when people don't care? I've seen people open the bin shed door and throw the rubbish in.

Yes same here, the people are inbred animals. They will just leave a fridge, TV, bed there. Too much to expect them to respect the green bin. Anyway, if it gets sorted I'll just use that.

BorneTobyWilde wrote:

A large amount of the recycling waste collected goes for waste to energy as of course no one sorts their recycling bin correctly. They pick through it and then the rest ends up in the waste section with the black bin waste and again goes for waste to energy in Ireland, or it's exported to Sweden. Sweden burn waste efficiently and cleanly to generate electricity, they actually want more and more waste from Ireland as we're too dumb or ignorant to realise that waste is actually a great fuel.

More so the lack of will and misinformation about energy recovery from the burning of waste I'd imagine, put a proposal forward for an incinerator, and watch what happens, I can't see this changing anytime soon

Del2005 wrote: »

What will CCTV do? You'll have a video of someone allegedly illegally dumping then what. Dublin City Council got in trouble for posting blurred images of people dumping so an OMC would be destroyed if they did anything wrong, they also have GDPR to worry about and the owners would object to them being recorded.

Then there is the fact that people commiting crimes know that CCTV is easily defeated.

For a start, it will be a deterrent for some people. These probably aren't hardened criminals. They're just people taking a short cut because they know they will get away with it. The presence of CCTV will deter some people.


For others, there is an opportunity for them to deal with cases as they arise, by identifying the person involved. This wouldn't be easy, but it would be possible. And yes, they'd have to make sure that they were well covered with policies and warning signs and good procedures.

I live alone, rent what is effectively a duplex (although pitched as an end of terrace house), and generate maybe 1 black bag of mixed rubbish every fortnight.

The 2 local bin companies want nonsense amounts to provide 3 bins it'd take me months to fill and nowhere to store (no back garden). The local council recycling centre costs €4 just to drive through the barrier, plus the 15 minute drive to get there, and that's separate from the charges for disposing of general waste.

Feck that.. I bought a used wheelie bin and wait till I have 4 bags (so every 2 months or so) and then drive it to one of those big compactor bins they have at some petrol stations as I pass by one weekly anyway - €16 takes care of the lot.

Until my low-usage scenario is factored in to these "initiatives" then I won't be changing. There's a lot more like me as well I'd say.

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Our collectors have (finally) started accepting 'rigid plastic' for recycling - butter etc. tubs and fruit veg trays. I'm not sure though if these are examples of the hard plastics accepted or the entirety of them. I wish they'd do these things by PET number; that would cut out most of the confusion.

Butter/margarine tubs are hard to wash and I'm sure a huge percentage chucked in the recycling are contaminated. Rigid plastic is another problem as, apparently, black plastic can't be detected by existing equipment. As I've said previously the 'system' is a shambles and needs a complete rethink.

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

Recycled can mean a host of things. Most recycling centres take plastics, as it's a fuel and recycled into electricity, ie its burnt in a waste to energy facility. Poolbeg Incinerator needs fuel, and plastics of all sorts are great fuel.

Recycling means that - not burning.