I have a confession to make. I regularly indulge in illegal recycling. Oh, I know, it's against the law and this confession could lead to me either a) being prosecuted or b) incurring extra business costs or c) both a) and b) but it's time to clear the air.
In the daily running of my business I generate a waste that no normal recycler wants as it has little or no resale value - corrugated brown cardboard boxes and the 'wrong type' of plastic. Instead of paying for them to be ditched into landfill I have found a number of outlets for my waste.
One of my suppliers collects and re-uses the packaging that they deliver the product in. This is not a formal arrangement and I'm fairly sure they don't have a waste carriers licence. We keep some of the packaging from other goods delivered to one side because the boxes are a brilliant size for people to pack their things when they are moving home. Lightweight 10 litre plastic buckets are twice a year collected by one of my ex-employees, who is now a greenkeeper on an international standard golf course, and used to transport grass seed and fertiliser.
I remember a time, over 20 years ago, before the recycling message was so widespread that as a business we actually recycled more then than we do now. Why? There was money to be made in recycling then whereas it is far less lucrative now so there are less recyclers competing against each other for the waste.
If I'm caught illegally recycling then there are consequences to face which seem to be utterly preposterous. Until that day I will continue to flout this ridiculous law.
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4 comments:
You've reminded me of all sorts of things that were ordinary practice, back before it was called recycling. Like liver containers from the butchers that could be had for the asking, lidded and the perfect size for storing odds and ends. Like the kind of plastic bucket you mention, surplus to requirements at the brewery. Beer crates that were redeployed for supporting trestle tables and shed benches. And glass bottles you returned to the shop for a few pennies (rather than smashing and remelting in the name of recycling).
Strange how giving something a posh name and an entire legal apparatus stops people using their own initiative....
Ah, sending glass bottles back to the brewery. Something every 13 year old should have to do for a year - sort out the different size bottles into different crates.
I may even make my son do it for a while, before I tell him what NRB stands for...
As an aside, Grolsch swing-top bottles still get sent back. Might be worth a pint or two at your local if you give them all your empties...
It really is madness.
I visited a rather nice local garden centre which has a circa 15 million turnover at the weekend.
As is my way I bought some plants and a couple of pots.
I asked, as I always do, for a cardboard box to keep my plants upright and my pots from being damaged only to be told by a very embarrassed young lady manning the till " We don't have any boxes any more because they all have to go for recycling"
So she packed my plants and pots into flimsy plastic carrier bags that cannot be recycled and will pollute the ground for hundreds of years. Utter madness.
PS
I too am in business and take no notice whatsoever of recycling advice or 'green initiatives'.
A short fcuk off or bugger off is usually enough to derail the cretins that are employed to ensure we all comply with their pointless measures.
I guess they are to embarrassed or to dumb to admit failure as there have never been any 'further actions' taken which is a pity as I would be delighted to take on the cretins supervisors.
BTW - welcome back.
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