It's not my fault!!! (Waste disposal)

Member Name: JamieJCO

Product:	Waste disposal
Date:	14/03/09 (136 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Allocated bins.

Disadvantages: Too much blame on the public, no incentive to recycle.

Waste disposal is a topic that has gained a lot of media attention recently due to environmental issues such as global warming and the looming threat of running out of oil and other natural resources in the foreseeable future. It has therefore been the government and local councils' responsibility to take action to secure a decent future for the world, out country and the most important (in my opinion) future generations.

The council has introduced many different schemes in order to deal with the amount of products that they waste via landfill. This has had many implications on the way in which the public deal with their waste and the products that they are encouraged to buy. I personally believe that these are poor attempts by the council and the government as a whole.

Firstly, no matter how effective the recycling service is it is all in vain if consumers are constantly being bombarded with unnecessary, costly and occasionally ineffective packaging. For example to buy a few apples or bananas we are forced to also purchase packaging, polystyrene bags as well as foam holders for fruits such as apples. What I find ironic is that fruit has evolved over millions of years to be as effective as possible to stay as relatively safe and clean as it can whilst it isn't being eaten. Why we feel the need to package certain goods is actually beyond me, and more than anything it is probably just to increase the price you can afford to charge for goods as well as make it easier to store for the supermarkets. Go into your local farmers market and you will find fruit and vegetables stored openly (with no need of being refrigerated I may add), chances are this tastes better anyway because of its freshness. Anyway, the point is that the consumer shouldn't be forced to purchase literally tonnes of packaging a year only then to be blamed for the amount that we throw away!

The waste disposal facilities over the years have gradually grown better, and I'll admit that the bins that I have been allocated for general waste, garden waste and recycling goods impress me. One flaw in this system for me is that it is far too much work for the homeowner, having to sort out the different materials into separate bags for them to be recycled. All of this effort is then for nothing, at least from my personal perspective as the only thing that I gain from it is a slightly lighter load on my shoulders when it comes to doing my bit for the environment. There is no scheme to reward or punish those who do varying amounts of recycling. It is therefore no surprise that there is still large percentage of people who do no recycling whatsoever. It should therefore be made either necessary for households to recycle a set amount of waste, a rewards system should be set up for people who recycle a percentage of their waste or finally it should just be made easier for us to recycle our waste.

There are some positives when it comes to this financial aspect of recycling however. Despite the UK being miles behind its European neighbours on the recycling "scene" there have been strict regulations imposed on companies to do their fair share for the environment. This is where environmental issues really matter for me, as no matter how many tin cans I recycle there isn't any point is giants such as Tesco and McDonalds are throwing away thousands of tonnes of waste away every year. It has therefore been made companies' financial prerogative to recycle as they will be fined if they do not recycle a set percentage of waste, which is usually evaluated by the council. This gives the businesses a definite reason to recycle beyond just giving them something to brag about in adverts.

Overall I think that the government is trying to do something about waste disposal but they simply aren't trying hard enough. It should be made easier for average citizens to recycle and we should stop being blamed for environmental issues that are so much bigger than just the public putting plastic in the bin.

Summary: There's not enough being done...