Lisa Shea Forums General Discussion Life, The Universe, and Everything Outside of Canada, recyling?

I was just wondering in light of our new ONE BAG LIMIT what other countries/cities laws are like. I am interested to hear.

From City Hall website.

We also use a compost (green)bin and blue bins(recycling) already. Are most place similar now with the environmental concerns or is everyone at different stages?

I actually have no idea what green bins and blue bins are. It seems extremely odd to me to limit garbage disposal. What if you happen to have more? What happens to it? Putting a sticker on it and leaving it there seems useless to me.

But, I'm an American. Extremely wasteful. No offense to the green Americans out there.

The most I know we are doing is stores are starting to limit plastic bags usage at grocery stores. Some cities will fine you if you put recylables in with the garbage. And... um... Obama's trying to force all cars to be green?

But limiting garbage, no, we do no such thing

This is the Green Cart List Food Waste Paper Products Baked goods/Bone/Bread/Butter and margarine Cake/Candy/Cereal/Cheese/Coffee filters and grounds/Cookies/Corn cobs and husks Dairy products Eggs and eggshells Fish and fish parts/Flour/Fruit Grains/Gravy and sauces/Grease / lard / fat Herbs and spices Jams and jellies Mayonnaise/Meat and meat products Nuts and nut shells Oatmeal Pasta/Peanut butter/Pizza/Popcorn/Pumpkins Rice Salads/Shellfish/Sugar/Syrup Tea bags Vegetables Watermelon Yogurt Paper bags Facial tissues/Freezer paper Greasy pizza boxes Microwave popcorn bags Paper napkins / plates / cups Paper towels Waxed Paper Other Items Dryer lint/Feathers/Hair/Houseplants/Leaf and yard waste/Nail clippings/Pet Hair/Popsicle sticks/Sawdust (in paper bags)/Toothpicks/Wood ashes (cold – in paper bags)/Wood chips But none of these: No glass, metal, or plastic food packaging of any kind! Item-Where It Belongs Aluminum foil-Blue Box Animal Carcasses-look in the phone book Ceramics-Garbage Dead Animals-Look in the phone book Diapers-Garbage Dirt, earth, soil or sod-Look in the phone book Drinking Straws-Garbage Dryer sheets-Garbage Glass jars-Blue Box Hazardous Waste-Hotz or one of the Community Recycling Centres Medical waste-Return to your pharmacy or Hotz Metal-Blue box Pet waste-Garbage Plastic bags & containers-Blue box Rocks-Look in the phone book Sanitary products-Garbage Styrofoam products-Blue box Textiles-Garbage or Green Pages Tree stumps/Wood (treated or large pieces)-Look in the phone book The Blue Boxes: Flatten and squash items when possible All plastic food and beverage containers with #1, 2, 5 & 6 are recyclable You don't need to remove any labels Rinse everything No broken glass or window glass No needles Go topless – Remove all bottle tops! Leave paper material loose in your blue box. Stack them vertically instead of horizontally so they don't blow away. Cardboard must be flattened and tied in bundles no larger than 76cm x 76cm x 20cm (30” x 30” x 8”) •Cough syrup bottles (#2) •Dry cleaning bags •Over-the-counter medicine and vitamin bottles (#2) •Pop & water bottles (#1)•Pop cans •Boxboard - chocolate boxes, cracker boxes, tissue boxes, medicine packaging, etc. •Computer paper •Shoe boxes •Soft cover books •Cardboard cans •Bakery trays (#6) •Liquor bottles •Shopping bags •Catalogues •Envelopes •Gift wrap (no foil) & packaging •Greeting cards •Tissue boxes •Magazines •Newspapers •Pizza boxes •Telephone books •Empty aerosol cans -deodorant, hairspray, mousse, shaving cream •Empty plastic bottles (#2) -bubble bath, hand cream, hand soap, mouthwash, shampoo and conditioner bottles. Over-the-counter medicine and vitamin bottles (#2). •Aluminum foil & trays •Milk and juice cartons - Gable top containers •Metal food and beverage cans •Plastic bags - grocery bags, sandwich bags no zip locks, frozen vegetable bags, outer milk bags, plastic bread bags •Plastic bottles (#1, #2) •Margarine & yogurt containers - Tubs & Lids (#5) •Bakery trays, coffee cup lids, cookie trays, plastic egg cartons, Styrofoam containers, egg cartons, takeout & meat trays - Polystyrene (#6) •Drinking and soup boxes - Tetra-Pak containers There is more but you get the idea I guess. If you have more garbage you can pay for removal.

High-five to Canada!

But there is still garbage everywhere, it's so embarrassing, you can see people throw empty cups out their car windows and litter the streets.

Although maybe this heavy recycling/composting and one bag limit will help, but it also could lead to illegal dumping.

Tell me there are piggies elsewhere too.

True, good point.

Are you kidding? New York is home of the piggies. I'm actually embarassed to have a friend that is one of these people who throws bottles out the window. Dear friend, horrible habbit.

I've sat and watched people knowingly drop candy wrappers, sandwich wrappers, and their finished soda on the floor at their feet. All, at once, in one bus/subway ride. It's as if where ever they are, the garbage can is their feet. It's sick.

We do have a somewhat similar separation of garbage and recyclables. Few follow it though. In areas like where my parents live, their garbage place actually doesn't have the storage or processing for certain recyclables, so most other than the obvious metal and glass doesn't get recycled but thrown out.

We have wheelie bins & crates:
We have two wheelie bins ~ they are for general household rubbish. They are collected in alternate weeks.
Many also have a wheelie for garden waste, but we chose not to have one of those. They are collected in alternate weeks.
One crate is for bottles (plastic & glass) & cans.
One crate is for paper & card.

My Mum lives two miles away.
She has black bags for household rubbish.
She has a strong plastic bag or a crate for paper.
She also has a crate for cans, bottles, etc.

The milkman recycles milk bottles.

There are recycling centres all over the place, for bottles, paper, clothes, etc.

Actually, I am not at all convinced that the stuff we put for recycling isn't just put in with everything else, and discarded.

Aww.. you guys still have milkmen? That would be so cool... I'm left with the stories of my parents having fresh milk and wondering what it was like.

I wouldn't be convinced though. Unless there's a processing center for each and every recyclable product, and a strict system in place, the majority probably is just thrown out with the garbage...