The new recycling system

How else do you propose we go from 60% to 90%?

RVMs have been shown to work. I have not seen a credible alternative proposal. Just people claiming the 60% is false. The EPA figure isn't perfect but I am sure its relatively accurate. Its not that difficult a figure to work out.

I dont think what you are suggesting will ever get to 90% or even close. Is there any example worldwide of such an approach working?

The rate of mixed dry recyclables has remained fairly static from 2015-2021 (and I am assuming the trend continues in 2022, 2023). The public are well informed and I don't see how further education campaigns are going to yield the almost 50% increase required to reach 90%.

I dont know exactly how many houses have a green bin but from the link below, its clear enough that nearly everyone who has kerbside collection has a green bin. Extending kerbside collection to 100% of the country would be impractical. (Fig 3 - expand the Table).

With massive investment, the 60% of course could be increased but would you not agree getting to 90% likely isn't feasible?

There is no doubt you are being penalised for other people/companies not recycling properly. You will be inconvenienced by the scheme more so then other people as you get home deliveries. I shop in person every week so can bring the stuff with me. Is very mild inconvenience for the general public sufficient to not introduce a scheme that has been shown to be effective?

https://www.epa.ie/our-services/monitoring--assessment/waste/national-waste-statistics/household/

No health concerns there whatsoever

Is that a third/fourth bin?

No problem but I'm sharing this with just one proviso.

This is just what will happen in Casa Elperello, I'm not for a minute suggesting that it will suit everyone.

I have a couple of plastic folding crates that will each fit either 24 50cl aluminium cans or 15 1 litre plastic bottles.

They will hold 4 weeks worth of cans and bottles based on current usage.

I will probably go to the machine every 3 weeks in order to give me a week's leeway in the event of machine failure or long queues.

I can guarantee 100% that the cans or bottles won't be damaged because I will handle and store them carefully.

A couple of other points -

1 The combined weight of the crates and contents will be low and they will be easily handled.

2 The crates when folded will leave plenty of room in the car for the weekly shop.

the re-turn stuff cannot be crushed to save space as the barcode needs to stay legible.

From my reading of the spec of these proposed machines it won't even attempt to read the barcode if the shape of the can or bottle is distorted.

So the can could be damaged on the side where the barcode isn't and it still won't be read.

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest grocery delivery drivers will collect waste.

It came from a comment in an interview during the week.

The person selling this scheme thought he heard something anecdotal about something happening.

Basically he made it up to avoid a pertinent awkward question.

Our local Tesco is having these put into the lobby as I type.

I pay just under 400 a year for 4 bins. So few litter bins in towns you could count on one hand with fingers over. Plus 3 dog poop bins. Council just ignores the necessity for litter bins so too much littering at times

I can't see us needing this new system. Very little cans or plastic bottles. Only cans might be beans occasionally we don't buy cans of soda or bottles of same and our tap water is perfect.

No idea. The private environmental company who were paid to push this through completed their report in 2019.

So it hasn't factored in the pandemic and the changes in consuming and shopping that has come from that.

It also hasn't factored in what decline in consumption if that has been one in 2 hefty consumption charges which have been implemented since.

Sugar tax and minimum pricing.

In fact the data they estimated their assumptions is 6+ years old at this stage.

One example of this would be the huge increase in reusable bottles now, which is a fairly large market and is becoming the norm.

Why wouldn't it?

It's never been tried, local councils put token effort into litter collection as you are well aware and less so into recycling.

Example 1:

I live in an expanding village in Galway. During covid the local counciller made a massive deal about getting the local council to put in a while TWO street bins (generic bins - no recycling option) in the village. That literally all thats there now.

Example 2:

As mentioned above my mother lives in an area where recycle bins aren't an option by the bin company. There are a lot of people living in the same area. Where do you think the potentially recycleable material goes?

Point 3:

Do you really think that the single machine in the shop you shop in will have the capacity (physical space) and indeed reliability so that when you go there every week without fail that it will always work? What happens when it doesn't work? Again, the comparisions with class recycling are a bit daft as they are not anywhere near as limited by space and/or technology amoung other things.

Point 4: Surely the accessibility of a household to a green bin is going to be a big driver of how likely they are to recycle and indeed have a big imact on that percentage you mention. If kerside collectiong "isn't feasible" then I don't see how the far worse for the environment option of everyone carry around empties all the time is going to work!

Just because something has been shown to be effective elsewhere doesn't mean it will work here.

Are you saying we won’t achieve 90% with this new system? That’s a very different argument then the one I thought you were making.

what is a rouble bottle and how are they processed

In the fatherland bottled water bottles, are recycled whole in crates, you get the refund, have not seen that here

No I don't think we will get anywhere close to 90 percent to be honest - we don't know what 90 percent is in any instance - I expect the reason we aren't near it at the moment is down to lack of recycling bins in residences and in public moreso than anything else.

I was suggesting that a tonne of more straightforward steps had not been taken before trying this one. Steps that make far more sense on every level but for some reason (I suspect vested business interests) haven't been implemented to the fullest.

Pi$$ing off a large proportion of your citizens isn't a great way to implement this type of change and I can tell you that when these machine come into play, there will be widespread dismay at:

1. Their capacity.
2. Their reliability.
3. The practicailties of this scheme.

As others have said here and elsewhere it doesn't look to have been fully scoped at all.