Solar water heater

[Nemesis]

Clearly then the others are Photoshopped by the lunatic green fringe (of which you are most certainly not a member). There's no problem at all with flimsy plastic bags and we should encourage continued production and use. Graham seems quite keen. I seem to manage without using too many, but then I'm a rural hick and behind the times, obviously.

Do tell me more about the brown paper carriers though you say are about to replace them - I can use them to store the spuds in over the winter, and look forward to being able to have a ready supply. They help the compost heap along also. Then I use the compost for the spuds. Which I eat. I suppose I should re-use the end produce from that also. Must re-instate the outside privy.

 

[Flyfisher]

Correct. Not a member of the lunatic fringe.
Paper bags are no better than plastic bags, arguably worse.

 

[Nemesis]

Well I think you may say that, I couldn't possibly comment. One man's lunacy is apparently another's right thinking.

But do show me where the placcy carriers are to be replaced by brown paper ones?

 

[Flyfisher]

Indeed.

 

[Nemesis]

I presume that you both will be seeking assurances from David Cameron that the Conservatives will be re-introducing the plastic carrier bag asap if they win the next election? I'm sure that will be a vote catcher.

Still, when you and Graham start the Punch and Judy show, it's rather fun.

All we need is the string of sausages.

 

[MdB]

Yes, I like turtles too. Here's a couple I snapped earlier:

Didn't see any plastic bags though.

That is because the plastic bags are on the inside. Turtles eat plastic bags thinking they are jelly fish. The backward pointing spines inside the turtles to stop the jelly fish getting out also stop the plastic bags from getting out.

Getting rid of plastic bags from the environment is a good thing but as others have said, I think the advantages are over blown (though it would be nice to see fewer dead turtles).

 

[Nemesis]

It must be true - the Daily Mail says so. That well-know lefty loony greeny paper seems to have it in for the 'umble placcy carrier too.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=519770&in_page_id=1770

And Boris is against them too.

 

[skier-hughes]

Yes, lets ban,

Computers, they use elctiricty, which produces greenhouse gases and are hard to recycle, filling up land fill sites for years.

Books, they cause trees to be felled for their production.

Kettles, think of the energy used to produce one and the energy it uses making all those cups of tea each day, about 165 million..... then they used to go to landfill

M&S, don't ban them, they now sell them......... profiteering at its worst.

I'm all for reducing waste, but banning carrier bags is, just a knee jerk reaction.

Loads of people just jumping on a bandwagon, shame it isn't heading over a cliff.

More though needs to go into the idea of banning carrier bags.

 

[Nemesis]

Gosh Graham - something you feel strongly about, obviously!

Those Chinese - were they wrong then? And you think we should carry on manufacturing, using and disposing of 'single' use carriers as they pose no problems at all?

http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKPEK25589820080108?sp=true

http://www.recyclingexpert.co.uk/china-goes-green-in-recycling-effort.html

 

[skier-hughes]

NO, as I keep saying, nore thought needs to go into it.

Plastic carrier bags are one of many hundreds or thousands of everyday items that need to be looked at, in isolation it will do very little good in banning them.

I'm in full agreement something needs to be done, I'm just not in the banning them is right camp.

I know landfill sites will shortly be full.
I know soon no waste will go to landfill, but will be in the whole recycled and other will go to be burned to create electricity and heat ,well in South Staffs anyway.

Why as a country do we have such a hotch potch or a recycling programme? South Staffs collect paper/card/some plastic/cans/glass. Wolverhampton only one street away doesn't collect anything, preferring to pay fines for not hitting their targets.......... isn't this something worth debating rather than should a carrier bag be banned? Seems to me a whole country policy on recycling is more important.

 

[skier-hughes]

Ooops

 

[skier-hughes]

If they were banned, I'd have to buy plastic bags for single use, which is worse, a recycled carrier bag or a special purchase single use bag?

 

[Nemesis]

But we used to manage fine without them.

How many would you have to buy for those waste bins?

I seem to manage with very few. Looking at many people's shopping as they wheel it out of the supermarket, I find it hard to believe they can re-use all of those.

 

[skier-hughes]

I agree, but we also managed fine without kettle/electricity/computers and way back without books.

Yes, I agree far too many are used, but ALL of mine are re-used at least once, some are used more than once, for various things from dog waste picking to gardening, cat litter waste, bin liners, storage bags.

Education would be a far better thing, along with making them from a better suited recyclable or degradable material.

 

[Nemesis]

Now the latter would be good, but at the moment we haven't really got there.

Once you have re-used them at least once though, what do you do with them?

(In defence of kettles - I have had two in nearly four decades. Both metal.)

 

[Moo]

Two years ago, after a long ground-clearing season I ended up with a lovely weed-free allotment and two dustbin-liners full of plastic artefacts (bottles and bags, mainly).
Too cumbersome to take home by bus, I fed them into the embers of a friend's incinerator and watched them shrivel into very small blobs. The next day when I removed the evidence of my trespass I found that I could carry the lot in my cupped hands.

 

[MdB]

Two years ago, after a long ground-clearing season I ended up with a lovely weed-free allotment and two dustbin-liners full of plastic artefacts (bottles and bags, mainly).
Too cumbersome to take home by bus, I fed them into the embers of a friend's incinerator and watched them shrivel into very small blobs. The next day when I removed the evidence of my trespass I found that I could carry the lot in my cupped hands.

Burning plastic domestically is not a good thing. The temperatures are too low and it generates a lot of pollutants.

 

[Moo]

Of course, I take your point... but I'm still wondering why something similar couldn't be done on a larger scale, safely? It would certainly reduce the volume of stuff that has to be disposed of.


(Why do you think I disposed of it so surreptitiously?)

 

[Nemesis]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-26332,00.html

 

[Moo]

Mine didn't burn, as such. It just shrivelled up, and I didn't notice any smells, which is why it seemed such a neat solution to taking up all that landfill space.
That'll larn me for jumping to conclusions.