One of the items we received in our gift bag was a file called The Useful Book. It is a collection of information and tips from past course participants. I thought you may find it useful/interesting.
There are so many fabulous tidbits of information you can pick up on a course like this, but I must say that the one thing that really got me thinking was the way that bulk rubbish is disposed. Twice a year our local council holds a bulk refuse collection where large items you no longer want/need can be placed on your front verge and it will be collected by the council. I am normally at work when this collection occurs so I never see that it all gets picked up by a bobcat and squashed into the back of a truck to be dumped into landfill. I was under the delusion that these items were taken to a sorting area and any of the reusable parts were collected for recycling. WRONG! Plastic chairs no longer needed, old televisions, mattresses all get placed into a large whole in the ground. Many of these items could be rehoused but residents think that the council will somehow, magically, make this happen. There are the facilities for these items to be recycled but they need to be taken to the local council-run recycling centre.
I have managed to do a tour of the local landfill and by seeing what the system is like, it really makes me think about waste and what happens to the rubbish that my household produces. My waste has become my problem
If your local council run tours, I strongly urge you to go and see where the contents of your wheelie bin ends up.
Take care
Wow - that is so wrong isn't it? I would have assumed that big items were recycled in some manner. Our regional council doesn't do large pickups like that (although I think they may a bit closer to the city). Certainly our local tip has a thriving recycle shop with many a bargain. I guess they rely on residents taking in items themselves. Unfortunately, not too many large items leave our place - I think it is about time we took a trip.
ReplyDeleteThis drives me mental Bruise Mouse. Seeing all the stuff that people don't want any more on the side of the road and hearing it get crunched into the trucks.... If councils advertised the fact that these items were not going to be recycled I wonder whether so many people would put their stuff out. One Christmas around here, there was huge tv, after huge tv, being left out, as people had obviously updated to flatscreens. All crushed...
ReplyDeleteFor the sake of not jumping up and down on my little box, I'll stop but let's just say I hear you.
DD, our local 'tip shop' is great. There is so much stuff there that is really useful. It is just that people don't realise that for so many of these things to be recycled, they need to take them to the recycling centres themselves. I think education is part of it, but it also worries me that apathy is an even bigger part. Out of sight, out of mind.
ReplyDeleteCHFG,I also know that so many people get angry at others who go around and collect things from the collects. "Go for it,"' I say. I would much rather see someone get some use out of these items. This is one reason I love Freecycle so much.
Our council used to run a service twice a year. It was amazing how much was recycled as people came around and collected everything prior to the pick-up. Now it has changed to a user calls for the service. Its made me wonder how much that impacts on the old collectors.
ReplyDeleteI know in Sydney in the Municipality of Camden they have service where two times a year you can call the council to come and collect your bigger wares. We here on the gold coast don't have that service. I don't mind in the least. I used to do volunteer work with Lifeline and their pick up truck was one busy beaver collecting goods from all over the coast. They'd put the stuff into their warehouses and sell them. Anyhow it's good that you are conscious about these matters and congrats on graduating.
ReplyDeletePhD, there is a council near here that does the user call system. It is just sad that those people who would normally have gone through and done the recycling part, and taken all of the useful bits, now don't get a chance. The goods go straight to landfill. I don't understand why corporations keep digging holes in the ground to get at all of these finite resources when other companies (or councils) and digging more holes to bury it all.
ReplyDeleteTMKW, I love being able to rehouse useful items. Lifeline and similar charities are great places to support. I have even found a women's refuge nearby who are always glad to take anything that can help set up a new home for someone in need.
I think that if you have access to a bulk rubbish collection it is all too easy to not think about where if is going. It is just easy to put it out there and then it can be forgotten about. Having to take it to the tip shop or a second hand shop feels so much better.
Great information!
ReplyDeleteBecky, I'm glad you found it interesting. I think it is really worthwhile to find how rubbish is dealt with where you live.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI really hate the way it is all just squashed and dumped in a big hole - "out of sight, out of mind". I love Freecycle and use it all the time as well as encouraging others to do the same.
Organised Castle, thanks for dropping by. Freecycle is amazing. I too tell others about it, especially when they say they are waiting for the bulk rubbish collection so they can get rid of a heap of 'stuff'. I have even managed to put some broken things up there (making sure it is clear in the post) and have later found out that someone managed to fix these. : )
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