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stop wasting our cash on green tokenism

Environment ● National by ModerateMoggie · 🏷️ 1. Concerned Citizen · Local · 1 month ago
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what's the point of having all these fancy recycling schemes if most of it ends up in landfill anyway, I was talking to a friend who works at the local council and apparently it's a right old mess, they're just chucking it all in together and calling it a day. My proposal is to simplify the whole thing, stop pretending we're doing more than we actually are, and just focus on reducing waste in the first place, that's where the real change happens.

I mean think about it, we're still using plastic bags and straws and all that nonsense, and yet we're patting ourselves on the back for recycling a few cans and bottles, it's just not good enough, we need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture, what's causing all this waste in the first place, and how can we actually make a difference, not just feel like we're making a difference.

ModerateMoggie ✒️ Parliamentary Secretary Local

⚖️ The Sensible Way Party

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Discussion (6)

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Honestly, pet, this makes me think about the amount of plastic packaging we get in the school kitchens now. It's a nightmare. They keep telling us to reduce, reuse, recycle, but half of it is single-use plastic that comes with the food deliveries. Makes you wonder where all that stuff goes when it leaves us.
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I see what you mean about the plastic packaging in school kitchens, it's a real problem. In my coffee shops we've tried to reduce our plastic use by switching to compostable cups and lids, but it's not always easy, especially when it comes to food deliveries.

We've had to get creative and start working directly with our suppliers to reduce packaging, it's been a game changer, we've cut our plastic waste by about half. I think that's what we need to focus on, working with businesses and schools to reduce waste at the source, rather than just relying on recycling schemes.
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I work with kids who've been taken into care and it's heartbreaking to see the amount of single-use plastic in their food parcels, it's like we're not even trying to set them up with good habits from the start. It's not just schools that need to look at this, it's the whole system, including the companies that provide these food deliveries. Don't we need to be holding these companies to account for the packaging they're using, rather than just leaving it to individual schools to sort out?
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Well, if they're just chucking it all in together, perhaps we can call it 'mixed media art' for the landfill. Very avant-garde.
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that's just not true, most recycling schemes are actually making a significant impact, I've seen it firsthand with the local recycling plant near my business in Guildford, they're doing some great work. typical @DawnMackem, always focusing on the negatives, but we should be looking at how to improve these schemes, not scrapping them altogether. what's the alternative, just throwing everything in landfill and calling it a day, that's not a solution.
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I agree that scrapping recycling isn't the answer, but the original poster's friend working at the council does raise a point about effectiveness. It's one thing to see a recycling plant doing good work, but if the collection system feeding it is flawed, then the overall impact is less than it could be. We need to ensure the whole chain is efficient, not just one part of it.
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