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

Jumbles · **Posted: 01-10-2008 , 11:34 PM** #11

Sadly, I'm not suprised by these reports ChrisP.
My mother is disgusted at what she calls the "throw away society" today. She worked in a certain supermarket and said "you would cry if you saw what and how much we are told to throw away" Brand new, useable stuff, I'm not talking out-of-date food.

I think we have 4 major problems:

1. The cost of recycling - it's disgraceful!
Plus I believe there should be somewhere we can dump compostable materials for free, yes *free*.
2. The lack of recycling plants in Ireland. (contributes to point 1)
Last I heard, the only material that was recycled in the whole of Ireland was plastic. Until recently, I wasn't even allowed put plastic in my green bin, (go figure). I think only a few months ago, the first glass recycling plant in Ireland opened. (?)
3. Packaging - This is a major gripe of mine. The packaging on everything from vegetables to toys is disgracefully excessive and usually non recyclable / compostable.
BUT this is one thing that could be turned around by legislation.
Imagine if it were made law that ALL manufacturers of goods had to use the exact same containers *or* make all packaging compostable / returnable?
So Imagine this:
Every cereal box and bag is compostable,
Every glass jar and bottle is identical and returnable (like the old days 2p off when you bring your bottle back lol)
Every plastic container is recyclable (in Ireland)
If plastic were a 'last resort' packaging material and there were a limited variety of plastic containers to be used for all food & drink items and detergents etc.
Why? Because a lot of the excess packaging is simply dressing to make the product more attractive (and so more expensive). Imagine if all bottles were identical and only the label was used as a sales pitch. How much packaging and money could be saved?
4. Repair etc - It is too expensive & not widely available. Perhaps the govt could abolish VAT on repair related labour? Even cleaning is too expensive! For example, it costs more now to have a Duvet washed by a so-called "launderette" than it does to buy a brand new Duvet. So what do you do?

I could go on, but this is already the longest post I have ever posted on jumbletown lol!

	Posted: 01-10-2008 , 11:34 PM #11
Jumbles Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Co Kildare Posts: 204	Wasters Sadly, I'm not suprised by these reports ChrisP. My mother is disgusted at what she calls the "throw away society" today. She worked in a certain supermarket and said "you would cry if you saw what and how much we are told to throw away" Brand new, useable stuff, I'm not talking out-of-date food. I think we have 4 major problems: 1. The cost of recycling - it's disgraceful! Plus I believe there should be somewhere we can dump compostable materials for free, yes free. 2. The lack of recycling plants in Ireland. (contributes to point 1) Last I heard, the only material that was recycled in the whole of Ireland was plastic. Until recently, I wasn't even allowed put plastic in my green bin, (go figure). I think only a few months ago, the first glass recycling plant in Ireland opened. (?) 3. Packaging - This is a major gripe of mine. The packaging on everything from vegetables to toys is disgracefully excessive and usually non recyclable / compostable. BUT this is one thing that could be turned around by legislation. Imagine if it were made law that ALL manufacturers of goods had to use the exact same containers or make all packaging compostable / returnable? So Imagine this: Every cereal box and bag is compostable, Every glass jar and bottle is identical and returnable (like the old days 2p off when you bring your bottle back lol) Every plastic container is recyclable (in Ireland) If plastic were a 'last resort' packaging material and there were a limited variety of plastic containers to be used for all food & drink items and detergents etc. Why? Because a lot of the excess packaging is simply dressing to make the product more attractive (and so more expensive). Imagine if all bottles were identical and only the label was used as a sales pitch. How much packaging and money could be saved? 4. Repair etc - It is too expensive & not widely available. Perhaps the govt could abolish VAT on repair related labour? Even cleaning is too expensive! For example, it costs more now to have a Duvet washed by a so-called "launderette" than it does to buy a brand new Duvet. So what do you do? I could go on, but this is already the longest post I have ever posted on jumbletown lol!