Essentially it's a simple either or and it relates to the way that Cornwall handles the waste coming out of your home. The challenge for us as householders is how much do we think about the bigger picture, and how much do we retrench in to our own little world and choose what seems best for us...or what's least hassle.
Option A: You can have your black bag waste picked up weekly...just like you do now....and in addition, your kitchen waste will be separately collected...and every fortnight the council will also pick up your recycling...so not much change on the black bag front, a new kitchen waste collection is added weekly but for many of us who recycle regularly, this will be a backward step as we go to fortnightlies and need to find the space to store more material...for those who compost already, this will make little difference...recycling will go down and there is no incentive for householders to recycle more!
Option B: Kitchen waste and recycling picked up weekly and black bag waste picked up fortnightly...for the keen recyclers and composters out there, not a problem, in fact, great! but for those who 'can't be bothered' then it could be a nuisance...for those that have legitimate reasons for not recycling (I can't think of many when it's weekly), it too could be challenging, but in the grand scheme of things, not a major issue...I can think of worse things to have to worry about.
So what is the bigger picture...well, firstly, the Council are trying to harmonize all the waste collection services in Cornwall...this has got to be a good thing, and could save considerable money in tough times....whilst at the same time bringing on new and innovative services like kitchen waste composting. Of course, the best thing for householders is to compost at home and use the wonderful compost for your garden...the Council also offers a Green Joanna digester which can handle pretty much anything thrown at it, including meat and fish!
Secondly, dwindling landfill space, fines for missing landfill targets and the impending decision on the incinerator, all mean there is a real need to maximize recycling and reuse rates and minimise what we consume. If we don't, costs will go up to the Council as we miss targets, that's bad for you and I, and the argument for the incinerator only gets more justified as a way to deal with the vast quantities of waste that we produce....oh, and by the way, if we reduce what we purchase and consume (that doesn't meant eating less) then we can save money as well. Do you really need that electric toothbrush? or the pink fluffy dice for the car?
Thirdly, it makes sense. If you look at the bin below, over 75% of its contents are recyclable, and that's a standard figure. So if you take all those things out, then there should be no need to have black bag waste collected weekly....what's left is cellophane, those ghastly tetrapaks (see movie below), nappies and odds and sods.
Nappies! now there's an issue...what's fluffy, comes in different shapes and sizes, is better for the environment and can save you up to £500 per child? Real nappies, or washable nappies...or Terry Squares...now fun, funky and a real practical option to save waste and money....see www.goreal.org.uk for more info.
What about rats? If there's nothing worth eating in your bag, because it's all been recycled or composted, then they won't visit...and anyway, you're never more than a 20ft from a rat, or so they say!
What about smell? Smell from rotting food and nappies assumes one thing...that you're not using the kitchen waste service or real nappies. OK, real nappies might not be for everyone, but if nappy smell is the issue, then you have a choice, one that saves you money and the environment.
What about health effects? WRAP (QUANGO for waste) conducted research on this issue and reviewed over 150 research papers on this subject and found no evidence to suggest that going to fortnightly collections of black bag waste had any health impacts.
I'm not trying to trivialize individual issues and challenges...some people may well have personal circumstances that would make fortnightly black bag collections a problem, but for the overwhelming majority, in an age of environmental uncertainty and dwindling resources, our actions now can have big implications for our future and our children's future. Especially when we will be signing up to a long term contract that could be up to 15 years.
So I would urge as many people as possible to choose option B, and choose to increase recycling and reuse!
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