Green Bag collections: some questions answered.

Most of us now have the green bags with which the Council has extended the recycling service to include garden wastes and cardboard. A few people have asked the following questions about this service.

Why must we separate these natural materials that will rot away anyway from other rubbish?

During the summer and autumn months large volumes of garden wastes are put into the general collections, but all councils are now required to reduce the amount of bio-degradeable waste that goes into landfill sites.

When organic material decomposes it produces, among other things, methane gas. Methane can be dangerous if it leaks from old waste tips and it is also a greenhouse gas 15 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.

On the positive side, garden waste is also a valuable resource. It can be shredded, composted and used in place of products such as peat based mixes which can be damaging to the environment, and require more energy to make. Our garden waste is now used on local farms to improve the soil.

Why can't we put kitchen waste into the bags?

There are very strict regulations controlling the disposal for all wastes and many people inadvertently add things to their kitchen waste that can become hazardous or attract vermin. We can easily deal with these wastes by making our own garden compost incorporating all raw vegetable waste. Specialist composters can be used to deal with other types of food waste as well.

Remember, you can buy a compost bin from the council for just £10.00, it comes with a small kitchen container and they will even deliver it to your door!

Why is only corrugated cardboard allowed?

Many types of cardboard packaging incorporate other materials such as plastic films and wax coatings that either won't decay or prevent the card from breaking down. At the moment it is not practical to collect and recycle these types of cardboard. Corrugated board (minus any packing tape!) and paper packaging, such as egg boxes, break down and compost much more easily.

Remember the three R's: reduce, re-use, recover. Waste costs us twice, when we manufacture it and when we dispose of it, so reducing what we use saves both money and energy. By re-using products and packaging we reduce the cost of essential items even further.

Recovering it (recycling) for other uses saves on materials and often energy too.
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