new plastic recycling rules?

Andy From Sligo

just been hearing on radio these last couple of days that only hard plastic can go into the recycle bin now and not plastic wrapping/cling film/ cellophane off food packaging

So where does that go now? - dont tell me its back into the landfill bin that plastic goes now?

elperello

Yes you are hearing correct it goes to landfill or incinerator.

Zaph

This isn't a new thing, cling film, cellophane, etc. was never recyclable.

elperello

Zaph wrote: »

This isn't a new thing, cling film, cellophane, etc. was never recyclable.

Correct.
The best you can do is try to re-use some of it before it goes into the bin.

Del.Monte

More feckin nonsense. It shouldn't be allowed to be produced if it can't be recycled. Combine this with the laughable decision by China to ban the importation of waste plastic from the EU...where do they think it originates from in the first place....:rolleyes:

Hitman3000

Del.Monte wrote:

More feckin nonsense. It shouldn't be allowed to be produced if it can't be recycled. Combine this with the laughable decision by China to ban the importation of waste plastic from the EU...where do they think it originates from in the first place....

What was laughable? China was ok with accepting recyclable plastics until idiots decided to contaminate it with non recyclable material.

Del.Monte

Hitman3000 wrote: »

What was laughable? China was ok with accepting recyclable plastics until idiots decided to contaminate it with non recyclable material.

Perhaps if they didn't produce so much plastic rubbish - not just the packaging - then they wouldn't be getting so much back.

Hitman3000

Del.Monte wrote:

Perhaps if they didn't produce so much plastic rubbish - not just the packaging - then they wouldn't be getting so much back.

They don't have to take it back, also we as consumers have a responsibility to purchase sustainable products. The Chinese are serving a demand, I noticed how you ignored the contamination care to share why?

Del.Monte

Hitman3000 wrote: »

They don't have to take it back, also we as consumers have a responsibility to purchase sustainable products. The Chinese are serving a demand, I noticed how you ignored the contamination care to share why?

Of course there shouldn't be contamination, that goes without saying but I as I understand it contamination has little to do with the Chinese decision.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/07/chinese-ban-on-plastic-waste-imports-could-see-uk-pollution-rise

As for the consumer, that's a tall order as most people are too lazy or too busy looking for a bargain not to buy Chinese rubbish from Dealz and the other € shops. At the end of the day Western consumers are spending a fortune on Chinese products which in turn is helping towards the building up their armed forces at a frightening rate.

Hitman3000

Del.Monte wrote:

Of course there shouldn't be contamination, that goes without saying but I as I understand it contamination has little to do with the Chinese decision.

Contaminants is one of the reasons they cited as is there right. Up to consumer's to make the change.

Del.Monte

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Contaminants is one of the reasons they cited as is there right. Up to consumer's to make the change.

I did - years ago.

Andy From Sligo

how is it environmentally friendly to put non recyclable plastic in the landfill bin or incinerate it, I dont get it - plastic takes 120 years to disintegrate doesnt it, thats why i thought you werent allowed to put it in the landfill bin and incinerating it will give off toxic fumes from burning the plastic wouldnt it? - I think its getting very confusing now.

Del2005

Del.Monte wrote: »

Of course there shouldn't be contamination, that goes without saying but I as I understand it contamination has little to do with the Chinese decision.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/07/chinese-ban-on-plastic-waste-imports-could-see-uk-pollution-rise

As for the consumer, that's a tall order as most people are too lazy or too busy looking for a bargain not to buy Chinese rubbish from Dealz and the other € shops. At the end of the day Western consumers are spending a fortune on Chinese products which in turn is helping towards the building up their armed forces at a frightening rate.

I've found that the products in the Euro shops have way less packaging than from premium shops, that's for similar items.

Sure if we weren't buying Chinese we'd just be supporting another country to build up its armed forces.

two wheels good

It's worth checking with your local council whether any of their recycling centres provide a collection point for "soft" plastics.
My local recycling centre, Kinsale Road Cork, provides a skip for plastic wrappers and bags but don't seem to advertise the fact. I have no idea what becomes of it though.
But it's frightening how much accumulates at home - despite trying to avoid or re-use plastic wrappers.

blondeonblonde

Zaph wrote: »

This isn't a new thing, cling film, cellophane, etc. was never recyclable.

I know that cellophane was never recyclable nor was cling film but other so called soft plastic LDPE bags were recyclable. Now it seems only the rigid plastics are going to be accepted due to these changes from China.

In some ways it is probably a good thing that we can no longer export the problem to China. Hopefully it will force the issue to come to the fore.

It is so frustrating to go to the supermarket though and not have any choice to buy plastic free items. Only way people will change behaviour is by legislation to levy packaging.

Andy From Sligo

are we not just shifting the problem of putting the plastic back into the landfill bin now. We have been told for years to put *all plastic packaging* into the recycle bin and now being told to put the soft plastics back into landfill bin now!

Also we havent even got a brown bin from our waste collection providers, been checking their website for must be last 6 months and it says "brown bins being phased in"

Ger Roe

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

are we not just shifting the problem of putting the plastic back into the landfill bin now. We have been told for years to put *all plastic packaging* into the recycle bin and now being told to put the soft plastics back into landfill bin now!

All plastic packaging was never recyclable in this country. People who say they put every bit of plastic package into the green bin are not doing it correctly.

The bigger issue is why we allow non recyclable material to be used here in the first place, or worse, why we allow plastic packaging to be used that is not marked correctly to show the specific plastic type used. Unmarked type specific plastic should also not be placed in the recycle bin because we can not be sure what it is actually made of.

Some high level thinking and action is required - it can't all be left to the consumer, or solved by inventing an additional tax.

dr.fuzzenstein

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

are we not just shifting the problem of putting the plastic back into the landfill bin now. We have been told for years to put *all plastic packaging* into the recycle bin and now being told to put the soft plastics back into landfill bin now!

Also we havent even got a brown bin from our waste collection providers, been checking their website for must be last 6 months and it says "brown bins being phased in"

Problem in Ireland is that councils desperately want to get out of anything to do with rubbish and recycling, so they are closing facilities, levying charges and take fewer and fewer items.
Private operators just want to cherry pick the simplest/cheapest/most profitable solution.
It's completely idiotic, it's just lazy, short-term driven thinking that gives the biggest return for the smallest amount of work or monetary outlay. All done on the principle of SEP, Someone Else's Problem or STB, Screw the Bastard.
Since I am back in Germany I go to the local council recycling facility where I can recycle paper, cardboard, glass, tin and alu cans, wood, electronics, metal, window (and other) glass, large quantities of bubblewrap, styrofoam, plastic wrappings of any kind AND I get a green plastic bag where I can put any kind of packaging materials used by supermarkets for food and juice and milk cartons.
And that is for free I might add.
At home I have the usual brown ad black bin. If it was just me, I wouldn't need the black bin at all.

Andy From Sligo

our bin providers actually made a rule that *all plastics must be clean and placed into the recycle bin* and then made an addition of any plastic found in landfill bin the the landfill bin would not be emptied!

I mean, not all of us can realise the ins and out out of recycling. I am aware about that it takes what something like 120 years or something for plastic to degrade but thats about as much as my knowledge goes on that score.

I had thought maybe , i dunno, that we put the plastics in the recyclin bin and our waste company took it and (well passed onto someone else) melted down and turned back into plastic bottles again and plastic packaging, thats why I thought the reason why they asked you to rinse/clean the plasic before you put it into the recycling bin.

Del.Monte

It's a ****ing shambles like everything to do with the environment in this country. The EPA, the Green Party, the Government....one big mess.

Andy From Sligo

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Problem in Ireland is that councils desperately want to get out of anything to do with rubbish and recycling, so they are closing facilities, levying charges and take fewer and fewer items.
Private operators just want to cherry pick the simplest/cheapest/most profitable solution.
It's completely idiotic, it's just lazy, short-term driven thinking that gives the biggest return for the smallest amount of work or monetary outlay. All done on the principle of SEP, Someone Else's Problem or STB, Screw the Bastard.
Since I am back in Germany I go to the local council recycling facility where I can recycle paper, cardboard, glass, tin and alu cans, wood, electronics, metal, window (and other) glass, large quantities of bubblewrap, styrofoam, plastic wrappings of any kind AND I get a green plastic bag where I can put any kind of packaging materials used by supermarkets for food and juice and milk cartons.
And that is for free I might add.
At home I have the usual brown ad black bin. If it was just me, I wouldn't need the black bin at all.

so the easiest solution would be to look at what Germany is doing, and if its working for them and is effective (more effective than we do at present) then just implement it into the way re recycle in Ireland - but i suppose make it harder/expensive/confusing for the Irish consumer to get rid of their rubbish is the only way they know how to go and as long as people pay up then thats OK . its laziness for sure

Oldtree

Is it any wonder that the recycling ethos is failing here, with people putting things like dirty nappies into the recycling bins. It's the same mindset that has our roads littered with takeaway bags and cigarette butts, and our water polluted.

The new recycling list is below and they have felt they have had to go as far as putting the list in picture format.........

https://recyclinglistireland.ie/

The most poignant point on that website is that we have to have the highest quality clean recycling in order to sell it on to the global market!

blondeonblonde

Ger Roe wrote: »

All plastic packaging was never recyclable in this country. People who say they put every bit of plastic package into the green bin are not doing it correctly.

The bigger issue is why we allow non recyclable material to be used here in the first place, or worse, why we allow plastic packaging to be used that is not marked correctly to show the specific plastic type used. Unmarked type specific plastic should also not be placed in the recycle bin because we can not be sure what it is actually made of.

Some high level thinking and action is required - it can't all be left to the consumer, or solved by inventing an additional tax.

Government need to act though & it will have to be at an EU level in order for it to happen as the Irish government don't have the will or bottle to do it. The recent rejection of a deposit / refund system by the government for plastic bottles just underlines this.

Apparently the increase in shale gas fracking in the US has hugely impacted the production of plastics. Expected to grow by 40% in the next decade. Huge money & oil companies are heavily invested in producing more plastics & packaging.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/26/180bn-investment-in-plastic-factories-feeds-global-packaging-binge

Consumers still need to vote with their feet though & make more efforts to avoid buying products with excessive packaging. Awareness is key.

New Home

One of the things I don't get is why tetrapack is allowed and cardboard coffee cups aren't - they both have a plastic lining. :rolleyes:

TallGlass

Zaph wrote: »

This isn't a new thing, cling film, cellophane, etc. was never recyclable.

That's a bit off, depending on which way you look at the question. It is recyclable if the facility can process it. The main reason, cling film/light plastic is rejected/not wanted is due to it getting stuck in the automated machines that filter/sort out the material.

That's not to say you can't recycle it! It just take more effort.

GhostyMcGhost

Oldtree wrote: »

Is it any wonder that the recycling ethos is failing here, with people putting things like dirty nappies into the recycling bins. It's the same mindset that has our roads littered with takeaway bags and cigarette butts, and our water polluted.

The new recycling list is below and they have felt they have had to go as far as putting the list in picture format.........

https://recyclinglistireland.ie/

The most poignant point on that website is that we have to have the highest quality clean recycling in order to sell it on to the global market!

its stupidly confusing now
Egg Cartons can go in our brown bin

Andy From Sligo

Oldtree wrote: »

Is it any wonder that the recycling ethos is failing here, with people putting things like dirty nappies into the recycling bins. It's the same mindset that has our roads littered with takeaway bags and cigarette butts, and our water polluted.

The new recycling list is below and they have felt they have had to go as far as putting the list in picture format.........

https://recyclinglistireland.ie/

The most poignant point on that website is that we have to have the highest quality clean recycling in order to sell it on to the global market!

thanks for supplying the link, I shall have a look at that later

Andy From Sligo

blondeonblonde wrote: »

Government need to act though & it will have to be at an EU level in order for it to happen as the Irish government don't have the will or bottle to do it. The recent rejection of a deposit / refund system by the government for plastic bottles just underlines this.

Apparently the increase in shale gas fracking in the US has hugely impacted the production of plastics. Expected to grow by 40% in the next decade. Huge money & oil companies are heavily invested in producing more plastics & packaging.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/26/180bn-investment-in-plastic-factories-feeds-global-packaging-binge

Consumers still need to vote with their feet though & make more efforts to avoid buying products with excessive packaging. Awareness is key.

just as a thought - if consumers vote with their feet and avoid buying products with excessive packaging then end of the chain (it being the shop) will suffer more than the plastics industry (where you want it to hit)

I think it far better to do what a lot of people are doing these days, pay for their items at the till ... then unwrap all the plastic cellophane, hard plastic trays, polystyrene foam and any other plastic packaging ... and leave it at the shop. I am going to ask the mrs to do that next time she goes shopping and I will too - I think by law shops cannot refuse taking back packaging on food and other products including electrical/electronics .. is that right?

Oldtree

What I don't understand is that the plastic window on envelopes is allowed on the new list for recycling. Not sure it was ever off the recycling list.

Surely that will contaminate the paper recycling to a large degree and be difficult to seperate. Ok I know I'm a zealot, but I've been tearing these windows off envelopes for decades.

Is there a reason for this does anyone know, or have I been wasting my time?

Oldtree

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

just as a thought - if consumers vote with their feet and avoid buying products with excessive packaging then end of the chain (it being the shop) will suffer more than the plastics industry (where you want it to hit)

I think it far better to do what a lot of people are doing these days, pay for their items at the till ... then unwrap all the plastic cellophane, hard plastic trays, polystyrene foam and any other plastic packaging ... and leave it at the shop. I am going to ask the mrs to do that next time she goes shopping and I will too - I think by law shops cannot refuse taking back packaging on food and other products including electrical/electronics .. is that right?

If there was a charge like the plastic bag for that type of plastic, it woun't be too long before all those types of plastic would be left with the shops. It would probably be a lot cleaner too.

New Home

Oldtree wrote: »

What I don't understand is that the plastic window on envelopes is allowed on the new list for recycling. Not sure it was ever off the recycling list.

Surely that will contaminate the paper recycling to a large degree and be difficult to seperate. Ok I know I'm a zealot, but I've been tearing these windows off envelopes for decades.

Is there a reason for this does anyone know, or have I been wasting my time?

I'm pretty sure the plastic wasn't plastic but cellophane, and therefore not recyclable. And if it's any consolation, I'm a zealot too, I used a guillotine when I had lots of envelopes to sort out.

I really do think that if they just invested some money in better machinery, even though it would probably be a big financial commitment to start off with, it would be much better in the long run because more items could be processed and therefore reducing waste, and it would definitely create more jobs. Also, why do they ship everything to China and they don't contact other European countries who manage to recycle more efficiently?