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 6 May In order to fully embrace the concept of recycling, it is important to realise the true cost to the planet of failing to do so. This earth contains a finite amount of resources, and if we operate on a single-use principal the obvious result is that we will use them up. There is in the world of waste, a hierarchy for waste management, and it starts with the three Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – a mantra with which you may be familiar. Some resources, glass and metals, are easier and more economical to recycle than others. Plastic presents a difficulty; it comes in many forms and its separation into the various varieties is labour intensive – and of course – there’s a lot of it. The world produces 200 million tonnes of plastic per annum and less than 3.5% is recycled. The UK is responsible for 3 million tonnes, recycling around 7%. Plastic, despite what some carrier bags may state on their sides, is not biodegradable, but photodegradable. This means it is broken down in the presence of sunlight, not a lot of good in the darkness of a landfill site. Even so, the construction of plastic is such, that although it beaks down into ever smaller particles, it remains the same plastic polymer even as dust. It is this durability that has fuelled the world’s love affair with plastic. It is simply just so useful. Remember this when you see it by the roadside or flapping from trees. Remember too that much of the world’s plastic ends up in the oceans, being blown off the land or swept into the sea. 80% of marine litter emanates from the land, and 90% of that total is plastic. where degradation in the sea takes between 450 – 1000 years. All it has had time to do thus far is to break into smaller and smaller particles (oceanic microparticles) and can be ingested by every form of marine life from the blue whale to krill. So far then, every bit of plastic ever made, save for those incinerated or sent into space, is still here on this earth – as plastic. Plastic floats in the oceans in many forms, bottle shards, bags and bag particles, and as plastic resin pellets – the pre production from of the polymer, known as nurdles or more euphemistically as mermaid’s tears. Tears indeed, as this material is ingested by all forms of marine life. Turtles take in the bags whole, believing them to be jellyfish or squid, and smaller shards are taken up by fish and seabirds. Many dead seabirds washed up on our own shores have fragments of plastic in their gut. The microscopic plastic particles intermingle with plankton. Samples taken in some parts of the ocean show that the microparticles out- number plankton by up to 30 times in weight. . In the North Pacific, floating material is moved around the by circulating currents, drawing the pieces ever closer together, until they are becalmed in the centre of the swirl. This huge region is known as the North Pacific Gyre, and at its heart lies a mass of floating plastic, covering an area over than twice the size of France. Much of this plastic dates back to the 50s and 60s - so it hasn’t even started to show the results of the great carrier bag invasion yet. The problem is not just confined to the marine animals; there are wider implications. Plastic particles attract to their surfaces other non water soluble chemical pollutants which have been washed into the seas over time. This group, known as persistent organic particles and take decades to break down, are from materials now banned like DDT, and also heavy metals such as mercury, zinc and lead. Once ingested by the plankton, they are about to enter the food chain. Your food chain. You could say that there is a good case for plastic reduction. Below are some of those countries which have already banned plastic bags. One or two inclusions may surprise you. Rwanda, Eritrea, Zanzibar, Botswana, Taiwan, China, Bangladesh, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, Italy. So someone’s trying. 8 April Weee is the jolly acronym given to the legislation governing waste electrical & electronic equipment, and covers large and small household appliances and electrical equipment from industry. The disposal of electronic waste has recently become a big problem to the world, and is the fastest growing waste stream in the European Union. 1.2 million tonnes are being produced in the UK per annum, enough to fill six times the new Wembley. The IT industry is responsible for much of this high volume of discarded technology, as a result of the current obsession with upgrades, new releases, and enhancements. The almost obscene cheapness of electrical goods at the supermarkets, and with constantly changing designs rendering one’s current gadget so last year darling, make the purchase of a new item and the rejection of the old an everyday occurrence. The regulations aims are to ensure that the producer of a product – the one who gains financially from its manufacture – is responsible for the costs involved in its disposal at the end of its useful life. This also applies to importers, exporters, and distributers, including retailers. This recycling is ostensibly free of charge to the householder, although inevitably the cost of any activity will be added to the price of newly manufactured goods. There is at present no obligation for householders to recycle this e-waste, merely being ‘discouraged from placing it in landfill containers. Across the board this is unlikely to work as there are too few communities like Wye & Brook who can boast regular Weee collections. Small items make up 8% of the e-waste stream, but are estimated to amount to 30% of the items thrown away. How easy is it to bin any small item weighing so little? Weee falls into a number of categories. It may be household or non-household. It may be deemed hazardous, like TVs, monitors, fridges & freezers, fluorescent tubes etc, and for which further regulations apply, or non-hazardous such as washing machines, drills, radios etc. It may be historic - encompassing all those products which were produced prior to August 2005, or future - all new electrical and electronic goods from that date, which are now required to display a crossed out wheelie bin sign, with end of life disposal instructions. Producers do not necessarily have to collect the old goods for themselves, but must have ‘end of life’ plans for all products, and must finance the recovery and treatment of new Weee. This is an encouraging piece of legislation which could eventually be instrumental in both reducing the level of toxic and hazardous items within the goods, and improving the design of a product, as manufacturers strive to make items easier and therefore cheaper to recycle. Retailers have to offer a free in-store ‘take-back’ service on a like for like basis for all historic Weee, but as not all have the facilities to undertake this, many have opted to join a distributor ‘take-back’ scheme whereby they pay to support not-for-profit public collection facilities. This however does not apply to retailers of reconditioned or second hand goods, including charities. You can imagine, the regulations are not without complexities, with rules governing almost every circumstance, but the obligations for producers, distributers and users are well documented and can be viewed in detail on a number of websites. The Environment Agency is for once not too tedious a read. For local residents, smaller electrical items are picked up for free, whilst larger items can be collected by WyeCycle on their WyeCycle2 weeks, for a small charge. A form requesting collection (WyeCycle2 form) may be downloaded from our website, and just needs filling in and sending to us at Unit 2, Briar Close. This form can still be obtained from Leppers, who will also accept old batteries and low-energy lightbulbs when replacement items are purchased, on a like-for-like basis. 13 March With politicians and big business trying to out-green each other by condemning the plastic carrier bag, it is important to put the issue in context. Whilst plastic bags can cause litter and harm to wildlife, their environmental impact pales into insignificance compared to the nature of the contents of the bag. If you are going to buy fruit which has been hauled half way round the world on a plane, or meat produced under poor welfare conditions, then frankly it doesn’t matter much whether you carry it home in a plastic bag or one of the latest status-symbol fabric bags. The supermarkets, of course, know this, and are therefore delighted that everyone is talking about plastic bags as it deflects attention away from the far greater damage caused by their business practices. The Ashford Borough is well served with farm shops and farmers markets. Local residents should recognise that it is by supporting these businesses, rather than by getting a ‘bag for life’, that they will make a real difference. 26 February Well, that’s it. We have completed a second waste audit, and now can see how well our summer-long recycling campaign has worked. This campaign, which began with the issue of the new WyeCycle calendar in June, and was followed up by door knocking across the two parishes, along with questions regarding the usefulness of the calendar, about attitudes to recycling, and encouragement to participate with WyeCyle, particularly with the kitchen waste. Along with many complementary remarks, the survey produced some rather interesting comments, some of which I have listed below. “I don’t have any waste” “We do our recycling at the tip” “We give you all our papers” “I don’t have room for a kitchen bin” The audit looks at the composition of the waste and weighs it in a variety of categories such as food, paper, cans, glass bottles and plastic. The overall results of both audits show very little change, with some weights up, and some down. Given the size of the parishes covered, and the 10% sample taken, you can appreciate that this is merely a snapshot of your society. The November weighings happen to show an increase per annum from 226 kg to 299 kg residual waste (this is the rubbish left for the dustmen) per household per year. In essence there were no significant changes in recycling behaviour as a result of the leafleting and door knocking campaign, even though we know that there has been a 4% increase in the number of households requesting the kitchen caddy over the same period, as a direct result of this. The small deviations in weights, separated by the 4 months, could just as easily be as a result of a change of home ownership or a new baby, as a holiday absence, or visitors during the fortnight of the audit. What did become apparent was that within the community there are households who appear to do practically no recycling, and this naturally raises the average weight of residual rubbish per household. Despite this, from data taken from the Defra (government) statistics for 2006/7, of the three most successful councils with the lowest residual waste weight in the country, namely South Somerset, Oadby and Weymouth, the latter produced an average of 431 kg of residual waste per household per year. Compare this with our results at 262kg per household per year, taken from both audits, and feel encouraged. However, despite any congratulatory back-slapping we may be tempted to do, I feel I must point out that from our figure of 262 kg, an average of 149kg were recyclable items – that’s 57% recyclables going to landfill, when in theory we need only send 113 kg. The fundamental issue now is whether it is possible to substantially reduce residual waste from Wye and Brook, and to exclude all recyclable items. Given that recycling is currently a voluntary procedure in the UK, and that this community sends just under half the waste to landfill as the best performing councils in the land, this is a debatable point. We have spent much time, effort and money in attempting to increase the local participation and reduce the amount of residual waste to be collected by the council, but still end up with much the same results. It begs the question as to whether we have reached a ceiling for voluntary recycling, and that the next stage would have to be some degree of compulsion……. 5 February We are pleased to hear that our near neighbours Shepway District Council are introducing a charge for garden waste collection. WyeCycle have long advocated pay-per-bag for garden waste as being both environmentally and socially preferable than ‘free’ collection – see our composting guide for further explanation on this. How much longer, we wonder, before the penny drops with our own local authority Ashford Borough Council? For recent national recognition of the waste reduction levels being achieved in Wye and Brook, see the 21 January news story on www.letsrecycle.com 13 December WyeCycle & the Compost Doctors This is a new scheme which aims to encourage the use of on-site composting by establishments which produce quantities kitchen waste, and which have the space to do so. This naturally will obliviate the need to have the waste collected and transferred to a composting site, incinerator or to landfill. Suitable sites would be pubs, restaurants, schools, hospitals, and prisons – any establishment with adequate land attached, so that the resulting compost can be put to use within the site. Present government regulations forbid the removal from site of composted material that may contain animal by-products, unless strict regulations are adhered to. If an establishment is interested in joining the scheme, the first port of call is their local Compost Doctor for a consultation. The practicalities of setting up such an operation, and the finances involved are reviewed. It is important that a home-composting scheme proves to be a cheaper option for a business than paying for waste removal, although the environmental implications of on-site composting should not be disregarded. As part of the consultation, a waste audit is implemented to ascertain the quantity and frequency of food waste produced, and on this basis the Doctor makes a recommendation on the type of composting facility required. There are a number of composting machines on the market, varying in size and complexity, and different composting equipment. The role of the Compost Doctor is to advise on the most appropriate method to suit the individual site. The staff are trained in the correct method of composting, use of machinery, and in the necessary hygiene procedures. The Compost Doctor will always remain in the background for support and further advice if required. There are currently 11 Compost Doctors across the country, each running at least one scheme. That supported by WyeCycle is at the fruit farm, farm shop, & café at Perry Court on the A28. Here they mix food waste from their various enterprises in an adapted Keenan feed wagon, like those operated at the WyeCycle yard. A variety of foodstuffs are added to the wagon on a daily basis and is stirred regularly by an internal paddle. Excess liquid is controlled by the addition of waste cardboard, which also improves the carbon content of the resulting compost. They have two composting wagons which can hold up to 80m³ of material, so that one contains maturing compost whilst the other is being filled. By doing this, Perry Court are able to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill from their business by 80%. The resultant compost is spread on their land, thus giving them a double benefit. 5 December With Christmas/ New Year falling at the start of the week we have made changes to our Wye collection days, please see Calendar for details. Brook remains unaltered every Thursday. 19 November We were pleased to see the following waste policy report on the Guildford Labour Party website. The reasons given for charging for garden waste collection are lifted verbatim from WyeCycle’s composting guide – see composting – which shows how our work is having a direct influence on waste policies throughout the UK. We look forward to councils closer to home taking note…. Green garden waste recycling The Liberal Democrats, who were the largest group on the hung Guildford Council, proposed a scheme whereby every household in the Borough would get collection and recycling of garden waste 'FREE OF CHARGE'. The scheme would have cost £400,000 - equivalent to about 8% of the Council Tax. A better solution was proposed in a motion to the Executive moved by Councillor Keith Chesterton (ex-Lead Member for the Environment) and carried, with the support of the Tory Group. A charge would be made for collecting GARDEN waste which did NOT include kitchen waste. Keith Chesterton said that there were two reasons for charging. 1. A free service would discourage home composting, as it would be too easy for residents to put out all their garden waste for collection. It was accepted that composting in or adjacent to the garden where the waste was produced was the best environmental option. 2. The service was not free at all, but actually a HIGHLY REGRESSIVE FORM OF TAXATION. Big houses produce substantially more garden material than small houses, at a cost substantially greater than the extra tax levied for the waste collection element of the Council Tax bill. This would have meant that the poor subsidised the rich! For this reason other authorities with garden waste recycling systems have changed to charging, including Wyecycle, a highly successful community recycling project in the village of Wye in Kent. The trial scheme of garden waste collection will be changed to accommodate the new proposal, the charge depending on the quantity collected. 23 October A waste audit was performed in May on the landfill waste (the fortnightly council collection) on a random 10% of the households in Wye and Brook. This is a summary of the results showing the weights of various wastes and the percentage they represent. The upper subtotalled section is all waste which could have been composted at home, sent to charity shops or come to WyeCycle. I have converted the weights into pounds for those of you who, like me, were born in black & white. WyeCycle Residual Waste Audit Summary May 2007
Conclusions: - Actual average kerbside residual waste production in Wye and Brook is 226kg (678.2kg ÷ 78hh, x 26 weeks) - This 226kg could in theory be reduced to 75.6kg if every household made full use of the waste reduction services currently provided in WyeCycle’s operational area. 12 October Thanks for the brilliant response to the WyeCycle Calendar. It’s generating plenty of interest and a number of new participants. We have plenty of kitchen bins and black recycle boxes for anyone wishing to join the scheme. Contact us. Currently, one of the most asked frequent queries from local residents is about the collection (or lack of it) of plastic in this area. Well, here are some random plastic facts. As you know, plastic is very light. Even when squashed flat and baled, a tonne of plastic is quite a volume. 5,000 plastic bottles make up one bale, 20,000 bottles make up 1 tonne. So transporting it to the nearest processing site doesn’t always make economic sense. Incidentally, isn’t plastic - it’s plastics. There have been many different sorts developed over the years, and they’re all made from different polymers. We have designed them to perform varied and specific tasks. Clever us. Each kind if plastic polymer has it’s own symbol or a number in a triangle embossed somewhere on the product, so that we know what sort it is. Have a look at your milk or squeezy bottles and see. Here for example are some of the more common types
This means you can have a bottle, ie. a 2 litre Coke bottle, with four plastics in it. The clear bottle - PET, the lid -PP, the black base - HDPE, and the label - PVC. The technology to scan and separate the various plastics is available, but of course it comes at a price. We use 20 times more plastic than 50 years ago, and throw away over 5 million tonnes annually, and the amount is growing. The easy solution to this thorny problem is to use less plastic. Reduce the overall volume of wrapping, and use biodegrable products like cornstarch bags. By the way, ignore the ‘degradable’ sign on plastic carrier bags, that’s just a con to make you feel as though you’re buying a good thing. These items are mainly photodegradable, and break down in sunlight into tiny fragments, but it’s still plastic. It can only lead to an increase in litter if people start to believe that discarded plastics will simply disappear. For the time being the best option is to choose goods with minimal packaging or packaged in a material that we can recycle, like cardboard or glass, or buy products which are refillable. One point of interest here; there is a product on the market which is clear, holds water, is known as PLA, and is made of cornstarch. Drinks Company ‘Innocent’ are using it for their ‘Thickies’ range of drinks. Perhaps it will catch on. How do you get down from an elephant? You don’t. You get down from a duck This recycled joke comes courtesy of the WyeCycle Second Hand Joke Bin 9 October WyeCycle have always been firmly opposed to the incineration of domestic refuse, due to the health concerns regarding emissions and on the grounds that burning valuable materials represents an unsustainable consumption of the earth’s natural resources. We supported the campaigners who spent years opposing plans for an incinerator in Kent, a battle which was finally lost when permission was given for the plant at Allington (you can see the chimney stack from the M20 as you approach Maidstone). To the health and environmental concerns can now be added ‘it wont work’, with the news that the Allington incinerator is out of action due to what are described as serious and fundamental design flaws. Local residents have had to put up with a nauseating stench as thousands of tonnes of waste which should have been burned has been allowed to rot at the site, and deliveries of domestic waste to the ‘state of the art’ facility – including that collected in Wye and Brook on the fortnightly refuse collection - are being diverted to landfill for an indefinite period. This can justifiably be described as a crisis in waste management in Kent; a crisis bought about by the failure of the decision-makers to listen to what WyeCycle and fellow environmental groups have been telling them for the last 20 years. The only sensible way forward is large scale replication of the systems in place in Wye and Brook; weekly kerbside collection of recyclable/ compostable materials, backed up by comprehensive re-use schemes for furniture, electrical goods etc. Residual waste for disposal should be collected fortnightly and sent to landfill, with legislation on excess packaging etc being used to reduce the quantities of this non-recyclable material. The decision to build Allington has caused enormous financial and environmental harm to Kent residents. There is an urgent need for this mistake to be acknowledged, and for the systems pioneered by WyeCycle to be put in place throughout Kent. 1 October WyeCycle Community Compost Autumn Offer – available thoughout October 6 bags for the price of 5 (£15) 3m³ for the price of 2m² (£30) WyeCycle Community Compost is on sale at the Green House, 2a Briar Close, Bramble Lane, open every Wednesday from 9 – 12. If you prefer, we can deliver it to your home or allotment. Contact us to place your order |
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