Its rubbish…and so are some people!

After our Interrail trip in April this year I didn’t publish my usual post trip blog…I decided to spare you all the dull repetitive details of what I had eaten and where.  It was also because most of the photos I took were of rubbish and rubbish bins. So here is a belated and rubbish focussed blog…

I don’t think anyone can pretend our current domestic waste management ecosystem really works.  We now have multiple types of collection (rubbish, plastic, papers, glass, etc) which yes, help on the recycling stats; however, given a limited degree of non-compliance and the enormous numbers of different bins and bags required, also results in occasional rubbish strewn streets. This phenomenon is sometimes exacerbated by the presence of psychotic hungry seagulls in Cardiff resulting in litter Armageddon. If we then add a few noncompliant end of term students and some HMOs with often 6 or more bins per property, per rubbish type, then we have a problem.

Some random pictures to exemplify the issue….

It can’t be me.  It really can’t be efficient for so many different types or rubbish to be collected from every domestic premises so often.  It must cost an enormous amount of money and time to process, and given the degree of non-compliance and seagulls, often generates additional costs to address post collection rubbish strewn streets!

I also want to add to this discussion the complete disregard some people seem to have of their own personal responsibility not to litter streets with their own rubbish. This includes not just paper wrappers, fast food wrappers, but bubble gum, cigarette stubs and now empty vapes.   It seems to me a lot of people behave in a completely selfish and ignorant manner.  This extends to some shops, cafes, retail outlets as well. Why I am paying through my council tax for the ignorance of this selfish minority.

I actually took on some “youngsters” in a car who threw their rubbish out of an open window a few years ago.  I said, “I think you have dropped something” and handed back the offending item.  This led to a rather tense stand-off – which I felt put me at a little risk of physical confrontation.  What the F is wrong with people – just stop dropping your rubbish!

Is there any alternative …well I think there is.  But it requires two radical changes in how we think about rubbish, recycling, etc how it is collected and how we deal with non-compliance.

• First – we really can’t carry on with a regime that has us all excepting the local authority come to our doorstep to collect our rubbish
• Second, we need to be far more robust in dealing with transgressions – both individuals who drop litter and those businesses that allow the front and/or near their premises to becomes littered.

In many of the places I have stayed or visited, there is no domestic rubbish collection from every premises, shop, flat, house, etc.  Instead, there are plenty of local rubbish/recycling collection points.  These are dedicated places (perhaps 10~200M away) where residents can deposit their rubbish as and when they need to (so a little and often). See examples in my photos below

The local authority then only has to focus on collection of rubbish/recycling from fewer, much larger and more suitably designed waste/recycling collection points.  This has three clear benefits

• First, a major reduction in costs to the LA in rubbish collection as many fewer collections are needed from fit for purpose, neighbourhood collection points (vs every household)
• Second the reduction of the visual damage we experience through ugly plastic bins and plastic rubbish bags lining our streets
• Third, the reduced risk of seeing rubbish strewn streets – which is a common feature of Cardiff life today.

So, can we move to regime where perhaps every other street corner has road space re-allocated to install fixed permanent and large waste/recycling points which are common across Europe (See pictures below)?

I really can’t see this as an issue, and I don’t think it is much of burden to expect people to deposit their rubbish and recycling in a local collection point like this.  Local Authorities could arrange rubbish collections from these locations every day – with one neighbourhood collection point replacing 10s even 100s of individual domestic door to door collections.

Yes, it would mean some capital costs to design and implement these new “waste/recycling” points, but the massive reduction in current operational costs to collect such will probably help to pay for itself in a few years?  Better still we avoid the current occasional rubbish Armageddons.

I guarantee some people will moan and demand that their rubbish must be collected from their front door; but really, can we afford such selfish and inefficient indulgence.  And how much of an inconvenience is it really to have to walk maybe 200 or 300m a few times a week to dump our rubbish and recycling?  Come on people, we can do this!

Onto the littering, this is a growing societal problem.  Yes, better education, however, I would increase fines significantly and employ many more litter wardens to both educate and fine people who continue to discard their rubbish in such a selfish manner. Similarly with fly tipping, much bigger fines and some properly managed community service (eg rubbish collection) should be dished out for persistent offenders! Oh and PS can we put a local sales tax on bubble gum and vapes??

Anyone?

Oh, here are the photos from recent trips of various “rubbish/recycling” points in Luca, Florence, Innsbruck, Marseille, Antibes…as well as a few I found on the web.