PAUL CASSIDY,
Sir, - I've been reading your series on the waste issue with interest as a couple of years back I penned a component of Sinn Féin's response to the North East Waste Management Plan, with generous assistance from Friends of the Earth.
An environmentalist by profession and a house-hubby for my sins, I since undertook to see how far I could take the "Zero Waste", idea in my own home. Within a matter of six months I found our waste being reduced from a wheelie bin a week to two standard-sized shopping bags a month, which we dispose of in the compactor at the County Monaghan recycling centre or in a neighbour's bin - with her consent. I was amazed at how quickly our waste stream reduced to what is effectively a waste remnant, comprised mainly of non-recyclable plastics, which I am now trying to eliminate through product switching e.g. soap instead of shower gel.
The essential tip I'd give to any householder attempting to go this road is to focus on hygiene and cleanliness: First: rinse/wash and store all recycs separately - don't put them into the bin. That means washing out tin cans with a scrubber - to avoid cuts - and rinsing bottles, drink tins, plastic milk and mineral containers - to avoid smells - before putting them into their respective bins/bags.
Second: keep organics and dirt out of your bin. That means having a small plastic tub on the sink for organics as a midway to the compost heap and also a small plastic bag - tied to a drawer handle - for cigarette buts and floor sweepings.
Third: keep pieces of paper wrappings and cardboard out of the bin also. In our case we keep a small container beside the bin into which we put cigarette cartons, soiled food wrappings/ boxes. We burn these in the fire about once a week but we never burn plastics or recycs.
At the end of all of this our bin contains non-recyclable plastics - mainly toiletries - and miscellaneous plastic food wrappers which we are reducing further through product switching.
I concede we have no children - so no dirty nappies - and during the summer at least no fire ash, but for non-parenting households "zero waste" is very reachable. All it takes is some adjustment to a new range of household chores, but someone has to initiate the move and work the other members of the household into the new way of handling, our so-called waste. - Yours, etc.,
PAUL CASSIDY,
Main St.,
Monaghan