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If you’ve got 20 minutes spare!

LynLyn Posts: 23,190
in The potting shed
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-03-28/tracking-devices-reveal-where-recycling-really-goes-video?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2023-04-06&utm_campaign=Do+supermarket+soft+plastic+take-back+schemes+actually+work+

  I saw this happening years ago,  nothing’s changed,  it’s got worse,  more people more plastics.
Nothing is going to change,  this problem is forever. 
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

Posts

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Too true @Lyn >:)
  • CrazybeeladyCrazybeelady Posts: 778
    So annoying to read. It makes me wonder if I'm not better off just putting soft plastic straight in the bin and saving on the fuel miles.
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    You might want to take a look at this site. Last year they, along with Greenpeace, organised the Big Plastic Count which was something of an eye opener. Our local council recycling seems to change on a regular basis and I am not confident that any of it actually gets made into something new, and anyway that hardly deals with the problem as it still leaves plastic in the system and it cannot be recycled forever.
    It annoys me when manufacturers change packaging to include more plastic when they can hardly be unaware that we ought to be using a lot less of the stuff........Bird's Custard is a case in point. Their "tins" went from having metal lids to sporting huge lumps of red plastic that may be useful as plant saucers but aren't going to be rotting down anytime soon, if ever.
    I believe that those who manufacture plastic should be responsible for recycling it or should pay a hefty tax to have this done by another party and that there should be checks to make sure that they don't wriggle out of their responsibilities.
    There isn't any part of our lives that isn't impacted by plastic and as gardeners we are bombarded with the product. I'm pleased to see that some nurseries that sell online are now reverting to the tried and tested method of shipping plants using shredded newspaper and cardboard. Apart from stopping any more plastic from entering the system, everything smells so much better when it is unwrapped with that slightly damp scent of newspaper and earth. I have received seeds in nice new envelopes that have dropped the bubble plastic and now sport corrugated paper to protect the contents. All this is just fiddling around the edges though. What is needed is a huge change in the use of plastic and a lot of honesty about what, if anything, can be done to stop the damned stuff from polluting everything around us.


  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    It’s never going to come from the top though,  it’s all about money.

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    Sadly true. The more a person has it seems the more they want and so they are easily persuaded by people lobbying on behalf of whichever foul polluting industry you care to name. But which of us would not be easily swayed by easy money?
    Any change has to come from the grass roots........manufacturers and vendors do not like to be hit in the pocket.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    There’s only one foul polluting industry and that’s oil.  But then what would they do with that residue if not make plastics from it.

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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