Have you had a recycling epiphany?
I believe I had mine when I found myself filling a bin up with empty plastic lemonade bottles and empty plastic bags from Tesco and thinking "this is crazy". It all started then. For a while I was militant about what we recycled in the house - much to my wife's displeasure, who still would much rather just throw everything in the bin and forget about it.
So I was would wash out yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, keep all plastic bags, shred all paper, in addition to the usual collections of plastic bottles and all cardboard. I bought a composter, and began to put foodstufs in that (and my wife never even pretended to go along with that). I was really pleased with myself (although I never got much gratitude from anyone for doing it, other that a few grunts from the staff at the Household Recycling Centre).
This arrangement worked well, as we reduced our weekly number of bin bags (for a household of two adults and two young children) from 3+ bags per week to around one and half bags per week, one on a good week. Then one week I took my usual load of assorted plastics to the Recycling Centre, only to be told they weren't recycling that stuff any more. It was brutally thrown into the general rubbish.
This had an effect on me. I no longer collected much of anything except for plastic bottles and cardboard. Plastic bottles are a pain to keep, as they accumulate very quickly and often get blown around the garden if I don't stay on top of them. But I kept collecting them, even though I had acquired the opinion that nobody else cared much.
Earlier this year, Stevenage Borough Council extended their green waste scheme to include food and cardboard along with the usual garden trimmings. This has been great as far as I'm concerned. It certainly saves me taking the cardboard down the recycling centre myself. This waste is all turned into compost. And I certainly don't mind using the kitchen caddy, even sometimes rifling through the bin to find scraps that have been casually thrown out by the wife (or mother-in-law).
However, I wondered about cardboard. I always thought the cardboard I took the Recycling Centre was recycled into new cardboard, which is the best thing for it, right? However, when I put it in the brown bin it becomes compost (and how much compost does the world need?). I wondered which was more benefitical for the environment (bearing in mind the motives of the council is to hit a waste reduction target and hence reduce inflated landfill charges). So I emailed the mystical waste wizard with my query but unfortunately he hasn't magiked a response yet.
I often wonder about the motivation of people who recycle. From my experience, it turns out that women generally don't go for it. Men do so more. Environmental concerns are less of a issue or a reason for people to do it - it may even be a turn off.
I don't think of the environment per-se when I recycle - on the basis that I have no real perception of what "landfill" looks like, other than in photos. I tend to do it because it reduces the waste. I think my original motive was that I didn't like trudging 3 or more bags out of my back gate, around the garages, up the road and back to my front door - eg laziness!
One person who does it say she does it because with no food waste in the bin bags she doesn't get cats ripping the bags open. Thats a good motivation. I think people who do recycle have their reasons, and they tend to be practical reasons like that.
I think recycling is the best thing we can do and its not even a new concept. Remember when most people used to get their milk from the milk man? Not a plastic carton in site, and the glass bottles were used again and again and again with no fuss. Old people are the original "green bag" pioneers - how many old folks do you see walking around with one of those usually red-and-white checked bags? They don't need plastic bags thank you!
I think more people can and will recycle, they just need the right motivations. Not the environment. Not even money (eg your council tax will increase if you don't recycle more). Just appeal to our laziness and our drive for cleanliness. If we can do that, then we'll be a nation of militant recyclists in no time!
