overpopulation and the environment

[TheJake]

well it's funny too cause alot of cities that have those duel cans setup just bring everything to the dump anyway and it's all a fascade.

which sucks.

[florencia9699]

Yeah... here in Buenos Aires we dont recycle... I tried to make it work in my house... but somehow I'm the onlyone who thinks this is important. Which sucks, I separated paper for a long time...but after finding a can, plastic bags, etc in my bin I just gave up.

I did find out last week that there are two companies that separate the trash (especially computer parts which are reusable and highly contaminating).

The thing here is, and I warn you this is going to sound just awful for anyone who doesn't live in a big city. I guess I just got used to it (which worries me from time to time) But after the economical crisis a lot of people/families have started going through the trash (right there in the sidewalk) and they separate themselves paper, plastic, etc, and they take it to a recycling company where they get payed for x amount of paper or plastic. Actually in one of my classes my team did a project with some cartoneros (this is how everyone calls them, it's cause they collect "cartón"). We found this organisation and helped them develope a video they can sent TV stations whenever they need the publicity.
They actually became an organisation, and talked to the managers of the buildngs in the Palermo neighbourhood to help them do their job more dignifying, so people there do separate trash.... and so the cartoneros only take with them the green bags, and they dont have to go through regular trash, just paper and plastic.

I guess sometimes living in a big city takes the perspective away... until u stop to analyse.-

[expatben]

Where I live the council has given everyone these grey and green plastic bins-1 for paper 1 for plastic/metal and then it gets collected every week with the trash. Makes it easier.

[Sijuki]

Originally posted by tumblezweedz@Mar 6 2006, 01:37 PM

Here in Germany recycling is an art.* In every village there is a set of bins for green, white (clear) and brown glass, and for shoes.* In the larger towns, next to these are bins for clothing (I think they're Red Cross bins).* In addition, we have to separate all our household waste into (roughly) food waste, dry paper and yellow bags (shiny paper, plastic, tins, etc.* In our village, our food waste is picked up twice a month, paper and yellow bag recyclables are picked up once a month.* So you tend to be very aware of what you use, when you have to store it up for a month!* Then too, we have a scrap metal guy that drives through the village periodically, ringing a bell, and he picks up old chairs, appliances, bikes, that kind of thing.* It felt a bit like a Monty Python movie the first time we experienced it.* "Bring out your dead!"* Finally, small producers, like our village beekeeper, ask to have their jars back when you finish the honey, so they can reuse them.* Our landlord works for Bitburger and gives us crates of beer etc from time to time, but we have to give him back the empties when they're done.* So I guess the brewery recycles them, too.

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This is one of those things I just can't see happening in the U.S. While it could easily happen in small towns, it just seems that people in the big cities would be way too"busy" to put forth effort to separate things and keep them stashed for a month. Plus people in the U.S. throw everything away.

But it sounds like a very efficient program

[Joker]

Originally posted by juliagulia@Jun 13 2006, 10:00 PM
damn, im pretty sheltered i guess. i thought recycling was a lot more common than it is apparantly. i'm pretty sure here in good ol' columbia its requiered to recycle (at least... everyone DOES. every house ive ever been to in columbia has had a trash can and a separate bin for recycling... and then you have to separate paper and plastics/tin...)

its just become habit at home, so i'm guessing that once i travel extensively it would just be natural for me to ask "where's the recycle bin?"

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Julia, Howard County's property taxes pay for the recycling services. It is actually required since there is a limit on how many cans you supposedly can put out at the curb on pickup. Depending on exactly where you are, you can get a bin from the county to use for recycling, and IIRC, HoCo was a pilot program for BFI's recycling nationwide. There's a massive plant in the Elkridge area that handles it. From what I can recall, the general trash pickup in most areas went from 2-3 times per week to one trash and one recycling day, with lawn/garden debris pickup on recycling day. Its a model program for 'burbs everywhere.

Here in Baltimore County, recycling doesn't exist on the same scale. FWIW, I've been here over a year and then some and haven't once seen anyone on my street put anything out. Shame, though, I have a huge stash of beer bottle weekly

In CR they returned all glass bottles for deposit, so its one sure-fire way to get people to recycle: give 'em money for the effort.

[florencia9699]

Tumblezweedz, I've said it before and I'll say it again: can I come life with you??

That town you live at, just sounds amazing!

[tumblezweedz]

Florencia, if you can stand the chaos, you're welcome!

[simply_angelic]

Originally posted by beergal1+Mar 4 2006, 06:51 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(beergal1 @ Mar 4 2006, 06:51 PM)</div>

yes...but I do that everywhere I go, whether I'm travelling or not. I hate litter...

No. I'm too cheap for that!!! But if I am in a crazy rush I may catch a cab to get to an airport/train station in time

<!--QuoteBegin-beergal1@Mar 4 2006, 06:51 PM
How do you feel about less economic developed countries...do you think that they outstrip their natural resources...do you wish that they were more industrialised?

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NO WAY! I love the fact that they're still developing. It's such a nice change. Very quaint. It's refreshing to see people living a simpler lifestyle. I want to live somewhat like that one day...

[bluepea]

I totally agree with the small town vs. big town thing. I grew up in a small town, and everything was recycled. We took our stuff to the "dump" (ie recycling center) and put the stuff in it's proper place. Now I live in Chicago, and NO ONE recycles. I don't even know how to. My sister in law said something about having to pay to have someone come and get the stuff... or be part of a program... It's insane. I'd take the time to do it, but we just have garbage cans - no way to separate.

[MeTurk]

Most countrys in Europe are preaty good at dealing with waste, in Ireland we have two bins one recycling and one everything else. Charitys drop of cloths bags that you can fill and leave outside your door on colection day and theres an old vacant house across the road where people bump the ashes from the fireplace on the sly. It's the same in big citys you can get ether a €1500 fine or jail time for illegal dumping. Waste in Ireland has become big buisness theres allot of money to be made from it. Our company is even trying to move into that area even though it's nowhere near what we do now.


The worst are the Spanish and Porugese, they don't recycly at all from what I seen, theres just a big bin at the end of the street that everybody uses.

Small towns could take over some of their waste and power using biogas but it's probably not going to happen.

[omisan]

I dunno, I saw a lot of recycling bins around Spain, next to the neighborhood dumpsters, but I heard they were removed after Eta had planted bombs in some of them in tourist areas... So it's not that they don't care, it was out of necessity. Hopefully they'll be back, or they'll distribute bins to individual homes to encourage recycling again.

[voyd]

Originally Posted by MeTurk

Most countrys in Europe are preaty good at dealing with waste, in Ireland we have two bins one recycling and one everything else.

Recycling helps, but really only deals with a tiny fraction of the waste generated at the end of the product lifecycle. And if you watch this short vid, you will see how we are generating a mind-blowing amount of waste before a product even hits the shelves! Which recycling unfortunately doesn't help with much.

Now, pop quiz - does anybody here know what this giant "vortex" is?

[mollymore]

Originally Posted by voyd

Recycling helps, but really only deals with a tiny fraction of the waste generated at the end of the product lifecycle. And if you watch this short vid, you will see how we are generating a mind-blowing amount of waste before a product even hits the shelves! Which recycling unfortunately doesn't help with much.

Exactly. Recycling should be a last resort after REDUCING and REUSING and yeah, so much waste and pollution happens pre-consumer, industrially, away from our eyes. We have to deal with these things at a societal level, not individually.

Also, remember folks, we aren't destroying the earth, we are destroying ourselves. they earth will go on and balance itself out long after we have fucked ourselves into extinction.

Molly

[pinknic38]

Originally Posted by voyd

Now, pop quiz - does anybody here know what this giant "vortex" is?

Out in the Pacific somewhere? Japan-ish? I have no idea. What is this giant vortex anyway? Toxic waste swirling in the ocean? Gross.

[maracle]

My city apparently plans to have zero waste by 2040. They claim to have already cut trash collections by 10% despite a 27% increase in population. I think they did that mainly by charging for trash collection by volume.

I still don't see how they plan to get to zero waste...this is a city of 700,000 people. They also are working on zero carbon emissions by 2020.

[voyd]

^^ It's one of 2 artificial "islands" in the sea - each one the size of Texas - or perhaps even double now. They are essentially ginormous plastic rafts formed by ocean currents compacting floating plastic refuse together.

Charles Moore, the marine researcher at the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach, who has been studying and publicizing the patch for the past 10 years, said the debris – which he estimates weighs 3 million tons and covers an area twice the size of Texas – is made up mostly of fine plastic chips and is impossible to skim out of the ocean.

[maracle]

Thought people mind find this interesting, especially in light of St. Patrick's Day coming up:
http://www.slate.com/id/2186219/nav/tap3/

I've been gearing up for next week's St. Patrick's Day drink-a-thon. If I'm intent on being an environmentally correct lush, should I plan on quaffing my suds from bottles or cans?

The short answer is cans are probably better assuming you recycle, unless it is a local beer in which case bottles might be better. The really good news is that draught beer is best, so if you find a carbon-neutral way to get to your local pub you can have an extra pint to celebrate your environmental responsibility

[MeTurk]

Originally Posted by maracle

The really good news is that draught beer is best, so if you find a carbon-neutral way to get to your local pub you can have an extra pint to celebrate your environmental responsibility

Cool I live in between two pubs. There's 10 within a 1 minute walk.

All this recycling craic seems too little too late. No government is willing to enforce the measures needed to bring everyone into line. We're doomed, simple as. If we accelerate the process it could be best in the long run as it will force us to make the changes.