Er, why now?
This week we learned that 160 containers of Irish waste destined for recycling in China got only as far as Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
Why so?
Someone smelled a rat. Actually, it was probably soiled nappies. Or half-eaten burgers. Whatever it was – and there must have been lots of it, compressed in all of those bales – it contaminated the aluminium cans, plastic bottles, paper and cardboard so much that the Dutch reckoned it was useless. And they sent it all back here.
Bit of a mess, then?
A right dirty mess. And it got the waste industry explaining that it’s mad as hell and ain’t gonna take it no more. Which, funnily enough, is the bottom line: unless people clean up their act, their waste won’t be taken any more.
Explain, please . . .
It turns out that 40 per cent of what Irish households put in their green bins, for recycling, is actually stuff that is not recyclable.
So why are people doing it?
Money. They’re dodging a bill. Soiled nappies, dinner-table scrapings, old clothes, dead pets . . .
Fido?
Yep, plus light bulbs, batteries . . . all the stuff that’s supposed to go into your regular bin, for whose emptying you have to pay each time it’s lifted by a bin lorry, is getting stuffed into green bins, whose emptying is paid for by your annual standing charge.
So what can I put in the green bin?
Look at the packaging: if it has the recycling symbol then you can recycle it. It’s all the obvious stuff: newspapers, books and magazines, cardboard, cereal boxes, plastic bottles and other plastic containers, tin cans and aluminium cans. All rinsed under the tap, to avoid food contamination.
And, ahem, what if I carry on sticking the dodgy stuff in my green bin?
You'll probably be caught. Panda Waste Management, which collects waste in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Fingal council areas, has installed cameras inside some of its lorries so that, when your green bin is lifted and its chip read (revealing your name and address), they will record what plops out of it into the truck.
Oh dear
Strike one will be a modest fine. Strike two will be a little less modest. Strike three and you’ll have to take your business elsewhere, it says. Panda is about to pilot its spy-camera system on routes in Fingal, in north Co Dublin, that serve about 12,000 customers. There’ll be explanatory leaflets and personal chats where necessary, but it’s determined to change bad behaviour.
That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?
Not really. It’s about bad habits and taking responsibility for the waste we all generate. The alternative to recycling is landfill. Want a megadump near your house?