Hard to be Green? Recycling questions

[admin]

Oh for the good old days when the paper went in the green box and everything else went into the bin.

Now I can throw plastic bottles in the green bin - well, some and maybe not the label or cap. But I can live with that. But getting back to paper ...

Now that the freebie newspapers now stick staples in - should I remove them? And almost every envelope now comes with a plastic window with no helpful recycle symbol. Do I rip the windows out?

Googling around the answers are - yes & no depending on which council you are. Not unreasonable where some council landfill and others, like Lewisham, incinerate or have different recycling equipment. Lewisham didn't appear in the searches and their website is having a hissy fit atm. So where do we find the definitive list like this one for Westminster: http://tinyurl.com/39mgtk

Stuart

[mummycat]

j

[sophie]

Thanks for the info on recycling cartons. I check the Lewisham periodically for updates on their recycling situation but didn't know about the carton points. A friend of mine works in waste management and we have had many a discussion about recycling. One recent discussion was about "washing and squashing" and clean aluminium foil. His comments on the matter are that washing out or not does not affect the recycling process and the same with food matter ont he aluminium foil. It is only to make the process a bit cleaner and our bins smell less. With this knowledge I've been less fastidious about washing the cans etc. What are others' thoughts on this matter?

[Annie]

Like you i make sure i wash all the bottles etc that i recycle,
but what worries me is the water i use to wash the things with,
wouldn't it make sense to have a 3rd tap that hasn't been processed expensively like the drinking water, that could be used to wash football boots, recycle stuff,water the garden with,maybe linked to the washing machine etc, so that drinking water is just used for drinking and cooking?maybe washing as well.

[sophie]

I suppose I could use the water from the rain butt for this purpose. It just makes it all a bit more of a faff though doesn't it and then one might be less inclined to make the effort!

[sophie]

http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/Environment/ ... ection.htm

Information about the brown wheelie bin trial.

[hazy]

lewsiham have been promising me a new recycling bin since october - they are most obliging by email & by phone but it doesn't turn up - i'm being good & holding on to the recycling whilst waiting - but i'm running out of rooms.