This photo taken in 1910 shows how the Parisian rubbish collectors disposed of their rubbish; it was tipped directly into the Seine. Luckily such activities no longer happen, and the Seine is once again clean.
Our new system of rubbish collection is due to start in January 2021, and we have recently been made to fill in pointless forms, telling the authorities all about ourselves, our habits, hat size, etc. In future, disposing of all those bits of plastic, kindly given to us by the supermarkets etc, will cost us dearly.
Luckily we have very little rubbish. We burn most of the paper, we compost our vegetable waste, and any tins bottles etc go to recycling.
However, we'll still have to pay for the new service regardless of how often we use it. It's not a fortune, but it was previously added to our annual 'rates', and we took it for granted. In future we will receive a separate charge; about €180 in all, per annum.
The old system seemed perfectly good to me, but there's nothing that bureaucrats love more than changing things!
They have to justify their jobs somehow.
ReplyDelete'If you stop pedaling, you fall off'.
DeleteI've seen people unwrap some items whilst still in the supermarket and leave the packaging behind. Let them deal with it.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant idea, I must make use of this one.
DeleteLady M often suggests we do the same.
DeleteI like what Christina described. €180 sounds excessive.
ReplyDeleteI have left plastic in their dustbin before leaving my usual supermarket. Occasionally their wrappings are ridiculous.
DeleteIf you shop in Lidl they have recycling bins for you to remove your newly purchased food packaging. I featured them on my blog this year.
DeleteGood for them. Certain things need to be wrapped; but not for taking home.
DeleteBeing an adherent of the "If it ain't broke don't fix it" school of thought, I find it so confusing when bureaucrats decide they must meddle with well-established and efficient systems.
ReplyDeleteOr is this just another scam to extract yet more money from the general public for them to waste on frivolous enterprise?
maybe I'm just a bit cynical, but these "improved" systems very rarely actually improve anything?
There are so many faults in their new system, that one really has to wonder who thought of it. We will all have an electronic key to open the new bins, and we will be counted each time we use them. I can see rubbish being thrown in the hedgerows, damage to the electronic system, or even people stockpiling their bags and putting twenty in at one go. It's open to abuse all over. As for the cost, it's not that much more than we're paying at the moment, but that's not to say that a 'cost review' won't happen every year.
DeleteA good saying is, Before you change it, look at the reasons why it is like it is. Please keep us informed of how it all works out.
DeleteBack in 1910 what the hell did folk think would happen to all the rubbish they tipped in the Seine? So blinkered and so stupid...just like the modern food manufacturers and supermarkets that provide us with packaging that is often impossible to recycle. It shouldn't be that way.
ReplyDeleteSome time back I posted a video of people doing exactly the same thing in S America; tipping into the Amazon. And that was TODAY.
DeleteThe thing is back in 1910 pretty much everything from house hold rubbish was biodegradable. It would rot quite readily, apart from glass and metal. Both the latter will disappear naturally eventually. Had they just piled it up and let it compost naturally it would have all gone anyway. Today's rubbish is another matter though!!
Delete"Plastic" used to mean something was cheap and nasty. Sometimes in song lyrics - "I can see right through your plastic mac". I've never liked anything made of plastic.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to think of something made of plastic that I like; I can't.
DeleteRainwater Barrel?
DeleteOurs is an old wine barrel.
DeleteI reckon our old neighbour, Philippe, will be having a lot of big bonfires and digging some large holes in his woods.
ReplyDeleteWe shall be digging too.
DeleteSome communities near me charge by the number of bags of garbage you have. Depending on the size family you have, you are given a set number of bags. Anything over that, you are charged more.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds a bit like our new system, but I don't see it as an improvement.
DeleteChanging things? Well these bureaucrats have to find something to do don't they?
ReplyDeleteExactly.... Even if it's for the worse.
DeleteWe had no rubbish in the ‘50s. Everything was wrapped in paper (brown, white or greaseproof) and drink were in returnable bottles) . About the only rubbish we had apart from the paper which we used to light the fire, or for me to draw pictures on, or use again to wrap things, were the eggshells and tea leaves which we used for compost.
ReplyDeleteI remember our eggshells were ground-up and given back to the hens! You're right; otherwise there was no rubbish.
DeleteWe all will be getting more conscious of our rubbish in future, especially the folks who have not been very interested in the past.
ReplyDeleteThe careless folk who throw rubbish from car windows would be on my 'hanging' list.
DeleteWhat a load of old rubbish...
ReplyDeleteAlphie
But mostly new rubbish Alphie!
Delete