Comments on: Good riddance to bad rubbish

By: Compostable Packaging

Compostable Packaging — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:15:07 +0000

http://www.compostablepackaging.co.uk - a major player in the European packaging world, and currently distributing in the middle east. If Iran, Israel and Bahrain can do it…

By: joe2

joe2 — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 02:26:32 +0000

Strange that there has been very little discussion on this thread about biodegradable plasic or corn starch bags. Does anybody know what the story is on those forms of technology? When i saw the former at the supermarket i thought we had a brand new day. Sadly, it lasted just about a week.

Now it looks like our new environment minister is likely to create a rush for large black and green industrial strength wheely bin bags that will set back land fill arrangements bigtime.

By: Helen

Helen — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:18:42 +0000

Of course any regressive cost is a concern Joe2, but at 10c/20c a bag - and that’s only if you forget to bring them with you - I can’t get too excited about it. I’d rather address the problem of poor people being forced out to remote suburbs with no transport, and therefore needing to run multiple cars. The second/third car would pay for a LOTTA bags.

By: joe2

joe2 — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:02:57 +0000

Does this mean you disagree with my opinion, adrian, on this matter or you would prefer to abuse me personally?

By: adrian

adrian — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 11:30:11 +0000

joe, I’m afraid you are becoming a rather mindless bore on this particular subject.
Get over it, as they say.

By: joe2

joe2 — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:26:32 +0000

“(2) the consumer is required to think about the acquisition of said bags rather than simply mindlessly suck them up.”

I am thinking another imposte, on the poor, to salve the conscience of those who know best. Enjoy that with your GST suckers.

By: L

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:19:30 +0000

And our local council don’t require loose rubbish to be bagged - they say “To protect the health and safety of staff who collect your garbage, please make sure your rubbish bins do not contain unwrapped broken glass, ashes, bricks, concrete or dust.”

By: L

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:12:22 +0000

joe2, anything nasty generally gets stuffed inside an empty corn chips bag or similar item. The kitchen rubbish bin is not much bigger than that anyway and it gets emptied every night. We don’t have any of those items in our garbage, though

God, what an absorbing subject. Anyone hanging out for a more metaphorically dense investigation of the topic of the fate of household waste should read Underworld, or Our Mutual Friend.

By: Helen

Helen — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:41:42 +0000

It’s more than symbolic if (1) millions of plastic bags are given out because the seller did not think to ask whether one was required and (2) the consumer is required to think about the acquisition of said bags rather than simply mindlessly suck them up.

By: joe2

joe2 — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:22:20 +0000

Hell, Helen, we are not hysterical, yet.
Just verging on it.

If you are happy to change a system that kind of works give us a very good reason to do it and provide a viable alternative.

Symbolic gestures are futile unless they make practical sense.

By: Helen

Helen — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:38:02 +0000

I can’t believe the hysteria over this. The proposal is merely to stop externalising the cost of the plastic bags (I’d say internalising, as it’s presently included in the price, but I bow to economic language), so you can pick them up for 10c or 20c at the checkout if you need them. Therefore,Wilful, the world as you know it won’t end; if you genuinely need the bags for your rubbish, then, you just get them instead of bringing the green bags..

Nothing changes, except that the cost of your bags is on the bags instead of in the cost of the milk, bread, and other items you’re buying. Oh, the rest of us escape the cost if we bring our green bags, but it’s probably still less than the bin liner bags you said you’d be forced to buy.

By: joe2

joe2 — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:50:00 +0000

Good point San Blog.

And Lucy we are great composters of most vegetable matter. As i said before loose material in the non re-cyclable bin has proved problematical for us. You must have a garbo with the gentle touch. It isn’t much fun picking up tampons, meatscraps and a franger etc while people smile and wave.

By: adrian

adrian — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:37:28 +0000

Well they may have to change their by-laws. Yawn.

By: Sans Blog

Sans Blog — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:05:03 +0000

“non-recyclable rubbish in the actual bin gets put in there loose”

That’s actually against the by-laws in many local govt areas.

For example Brisbane City Council:

To make sure your bin is emptied:

* bag all loose rubbish (eg. dust, bottles, kitchen scraps)

http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:BASE::pc=PC_2615

By: L

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:25:12 +0000

joe2, I do the same with my rubbish as myriad. All organic matter into the compost or fed to the chooks, recyclables recycled (incidentally, there are no plastic bags containing the recycling and it doesn’t get scattered about in the collection process) and the very small quantity of non-recyclable rubbish in the actual bin gets put in there loose. It doesn’t end up lying on the street.

By: joe2

joe2 — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:07:44 +0000

At the most practical level, adrian, please explain how nonrecyclable rubbish will not end up all over the road when the garbage man dost cometh without some kind of liner. I have tried it, promise.

By: adrian

adrian — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:25:28 +0000

Of course I understand what people are trying to say, I just happen to disagree with them.

If only 5% of these bags ended up in the oceans (it’s a lot more) it would be worth banning them, irrespective of the other environmental hazards that their production entails.

I actually think that you do not understand what I am saying, but I’ll spell it out again for those wilfully unable to understand:

1. The small sacrifice that not using these bags entails is worth it for the environmental benefits;

2. In the urgent environmental crisis in which we find ourselves we haven’t got time to wait for people to voluntarily decide to abandon their use;

3. Labelling it ‘feel good nonsense’ is in itself nonsense because banning these bags will have real and lasting environmental benefits which some people are wilfully ignoring.

By: wilful

wilful — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 06:21:58 +0000

it the utter tokenism, populism of it all, without a sound rationale, that i don’t like.

If there’s a good reason for government to act, I applaud it. I was quite happy with new efficiency standards for light globes (doesn’t affect me one whit, haven’t bought an incandescent in years). But this plastic bag ban is feel good nonsense that is going to inconvenience me and not change my plastic consumption, I’ll just buy bin liners. So it’s idiotic.

By: joe2

joe2 — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 06:09:04 +0000

“And here we are arguing about plastic bags and light bulbs.”

adrian, i do not think you understand what some people are trying to say.
It is the implementation of ‘feel good nonsense’ that distracts from real moves to address global warming and it might help to call it for what it seems to be.

A ban on plasic bags without a viable alternative may actually make matters worse.

By: adrian

adrian — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:50:36 +0000

seeker, I don’t believe that I used the word ‘like’, or implied that I had an opinion one way or another, other than the fact that such intervention will become increasingly inevitable and intrusive as the world changes beyond your recognition.

And here we are arguing about plastic bags and light bulbs.

How many bloggers does it take to change a light bulb?
What light bulb?