Recycle

Many Cities have set a goal to recycle a percentage of the waste generated. They ask for the public help in meeting this goal . Recyclables usually go beyond just simple paper, plastic and galss to include:

Used Oil

Tires

Construction/Demolition Waste & Used Lumber

Trees & Shrubs

Cars & Scrap Metal

Asphalt & Concrete

Yard Waste

Appliances

Paper & Cardboard

Most of us, particularly if living in a City, consider our household waste as pure waste that we just want to disappear. Put your bins or rubbish bags out once a week (for the fortunate) or fortnightly (for the less fortunate) and it’ll disappear into the back of a waste cart for transportation to a local dump or landfill site, where it’s simply discarded.

Not so bad you might think. After all, in the US you pay your taxes and hence have a right to dispose of your household waste. Well, you’re in for a bit of a shock. It’s not as simple as that any more and it may be time to re-think just what you’re putting in your rubbish/ garbage bin.

In the UK, landfill sites are becoming more and more difficult to manage, control and in effect the provision of land for waste disposal is fast becoming a crisis. We’re an island after all, so we’ve got limited land to play with. We’re even exporting our waste to other countries, incinerating our waste but by far the most cost effective way to deal with your household waste is to sort it at the source. This means having five bins in your home for the following:

In reality, splitting up your garbage into these five components will result in significantly less going into your waste bin. It should really consist of plastic wrappers and possible shiny paper (which can’t be readily re- used).

How else are the UK’s Environment Agency (England & Wales), the DTI and other government bodies clamping down on landfill and making sure residents recycle? Well, for a start Businesses are no longer permitted to dispose of any waste at Landfill and now have to pay for it. There are also a large number of things that can’t be simply put in regular rubbish. Defined under ROHS guidelines as containing: Heavy metals such as lead, chromium, cadmium etc. Fire retardants and other toxins. The reason for this is that the Government is ensuring there won’t be any polution of the Groundwater or future issues with contamination of the ground.

In the US, the issue isn’t as bad, but recycling targets still have to be met and Cities are implementing strategies to deals with Citizen’s garbage more efectively. Bylaws are in place and residents are expected to seperate their garbage more and recycle more of it rather than send it to landfill.