JumbleTown Ireland - View Single Post - The Irish are the Biggest Shower of Wasters in the World!

Chris P · **Posted: 01-04-2006 , 01:37 PM** #1

It's official: the Irish are the Biggest Shower of Wasters in the World!

The 2006 OECD* Factbook reports that the Irish take top place in the Wasters League. Every Irish man, woman and child produces 760kg of waste a year, which is 20kg more than the second-place Americans. The OECD average is 570kg per capita.

"A Culture of Waste?"

The OECD also reports that the Irish are placed second-last in the table for personal spending on recreation and culture (Mexicans come last, while the British top the table).

So what is it with the Irish? Have we given up going to the cinema, theatre, and funfair so that we'll have more time to produce waste? [Anyone seen <The Waste Fellow> by Brendan Bin?] Or is it that the Government is not doing enough to encourage more life-cycling & recycling?

"Lies, Damned Lies and ..."

Or maybe we should just ignore the findings of yet another report that shows us in a negative light. After all, stats don't really show the true picture, do they? What about the famous comment (usually attributed to Disraeli) that there are three types of lies - "lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Of course, OUR number isn't quite up yet, but what about future generations? Hanging our heads in shame is no solution. We need to face the problem full-on.

Your thoughts, please...

Chris P
(Admin)
------------------------------------------------------------
Notes: * The OECD = the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Its main function is to collect, analyse and publish data on a range of economic and environmental issues relating to about 50 of the world's developed/developing nations. It raps countries over the knuckles and exhorts them to do better.

	Posted: 01-04-2006 , 01:37 PM #1
Chris P Administrator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: JumbleTown Posts: 5,998	The Irish are the Biggest Shower of Wasters in the World! It's official: the Irish are the Biggest Shower of Wasters in the World! The 2006 OECD* Factbook reports that the Irish take top place in the Wasters League. Every Irish man, woman and child produces 760kg of waste a year, which is 20kg more than the second-place Americans. The OECD average is 570kg per capita. "A Culture of Waste?" The OECD also reports that the Irish are placed second-last in the table for personal spending on recreation and culture (Mexicans come last, while the British top the table). So what is it with the Irish? Have we given up going to the cinema, theatre, and funfair so that we'll have more time to produce waste? [Anyone seen <The Waste Fellow> by Brendan Bin?] Or is it that the Government is not doing enough to encourage more life-cycling & recycling? "Lies, Damned Lies and ..." Or maybe we should just ignore the findings of yet another report that shows us in a negative light. After all, stats don't really show the true picture, do they? What about the famous comment (usually attributed to Disraeli) that there are three types of lies - "lies, damned lies, and statistics." Of course, OUR number isn't quite up yet, but what about future generations? Hanging our heads in shame is no solution. We need to face the problem full-on. Your thoughts, please... Chris P (Admin) ------------------------------------------------------------ Notes: * The OECD = the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Its main function is to collect, analyse and publish data on a range of economic and environmental issues relating to about 50 of the world's developed/developing nations. It raps countries over the knuckles and exhorts them to do better.