Trash - the new gold

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by Paul Conneally | August 11, 2008 at 12:04 am
1422 views | 17 Recommendations | 20 comments

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With the cost of raw materials on the rise trash is no longer a throwaway matter. At first the cost of recycling for many councils was greater than just sending to landfill, the argument for recycling being more about environmental concerns rather than making money but all that is changing. The demand for raw materials, particularly metals, now sees those councils that set themselves up as getting a share of any recycled profits starting to bring in the cash and able to use this to offset local taxes such as the UK local councul tax.

The pure and just environmental arguments were never going to be enough for some residents to encourage them to recycle effectively but the possibility of lower taxes might just push them into becoming more skilled rather than the threat of fines for putting things in the 'wrong bin' as some councils have introduced - the Trash Police becoming a reality in many areas and seen as overtly and over Big Brotherish.

As the world hots up and the demand for metal and other raw materials in fast developing economies increases trash may well indeed be the new gold.

 

 

Dented bean tins and crumpled drink cans may be rubbish to most of us, but to the recycling teams who collect them from the kerbside they have the glint of prospector's gold.

For people living in areas that have recognised the value of waste, the effort made to recycle can reduce council tax bills. Residents of Westminster have benefited from the seven-year deal in which the council ensured it received a share of recycling profits. The authority was able to claim back a portion of the income derived when the price of materials rose. Mark Banks, waste strategy manager at Westminster, said: “We are trying to get a balance between trying to keep council tax low and trying to avoid the high cost of landfill.”

Source: timesonline.co.uk

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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (20)

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Uwe Paschen
Uwe Paschen
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:54 on August 11th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

I did not see this post before! Good Post and it has always been a neglected gold pile!

Lú_
Lú_
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:33 on August 11th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Thanks for the request for the use of my photo, which was taken at Toronto's City Hall -- which is in the process of clamping down on scavenging of curbside recyclables, a clamp-down that will mostly hurt the poor and homeless people who hunt through other people's bins for glass that they could have returned to the beer store.

World_Groove
World_Groove
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 16:00 on August 11th, 2008

Time to start training to be a professional dumpster diver.......

7
lsemel
lsemel

at 16:29 on August 11th, 2008

Trash bins near Union Square, SF

lsemel has contributed a photo to this story.

7
judithgcohen
judithgcohen

at 16:34 on August 11th, 2008

In April 2008, I visited Xian China to see the Terracotta Warriors. This garbage was in the park surrounding the Terracotta Warrior Museum. China is becoming ecology conscious. I'd love to see these in New York. All it is is three tall cans in one container. Simple, isn't it?

judithgcohen has contributed a photo to this story.

7
pics-ell
pics-ell

at 16:37 on August 11th, 2008

Concern about poachers stealing recycling and/or people dumping trash has led to bins being locked at this location in San Francisco. Very weird phenomenon!

pics-ell has contributed a photo to this story.

8
frazgo
frazgo

at 17:33 on August 11th, 2008

Recycling is finally a hot button and issue with many governing bodies at the local city level all the way to the states.  Finally is an understatement.

I whole heartedly agree with the approach of giving a tax break as opposed to threat of fines with trash nazis rummaging your garbabe.  Carrot or stick?  I think the former works best when you want people to make the right changes.

Thanks for the grab on my recycled cardboard recycle bin that i snagged with my toy camera a while back. 

7
lizsowell
lizsowell

at 17:59 on August 11th, 2008

The irony of this photo is that the wooden box is actually a recycling bin. I guess you can't win 'em all.

lizsowell has contributed a photo to this story.

6
mmpvanasseldonk
mmpvanasseldonk

at 20:01 on August 11th, 2008

This foto was made when I wrote an article about the Zabalin in Cairo, many of whom make a living from recycling.

martien van asseldonk has contributed a photo to this story.

7
JessicaErik
JessicaErik

at 20:29 on August 11th, 2008

About the only thing that can't be recycled at Far West Fibers is electronics and block styrofoam, both of which can be recycled elsewhere in Portland. But all plastic film is accepted as are jewel cases for CDs/DVDs.

JessicaErik has contributed a photo to this story.

8
clairish
clairish

at 21:08 on August 11th, 2008

Vancouver City has racks installed on the outside of trash bins downtown for people to put their empty drink cans and bottles so that people who collect them for money can get to them without having to dig around in the garbage bin.

clairish has contributed a photo to this story.

6
zedworks
zedworks

at 21:59 on August 11th, 2008

The stickers (though unrelated to the waste collection project) read "Do you already speak European?" on a recycling bin promoting selective waste collection, intended for steel cans.

The contents give away an obvious NO as the answer of many of us :-(

Seen on Peninsula/Felsziget Festival 2008 (TgMures, Romania).

zedworks has contributed a photo to this story.

7
Antoine Hubert
Antoine Hubert

at 00:49 on August 12th, 2008

Waste separation in the Chapultepec gardens of Mexico City.
(May 2008)
Hope we'll get these organic garbages in the streets of Paris one day too...

Antoine Hubert has contributed a photo to this story.

fotemas
fotemas
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:36 on August 12th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Hi ! my friend. Excellent site. Congratulations.

Darlan M Cunha
(FOTEMAS, from Brasil)

8
warmtofu
warmtofu

at 08:20 on August 12th, 2008

This is a landfill next to Hacienda Hts, CA. It's one of the biggest landfills in CA, and the methane that is captured produces 50 megawatts of energy per year.

warmtofu has contributed a photo to this story.

7
dougfl07
dougfl07

at 10:43 on August 12th, 2008

A line of recycling bins in a rare sunny day in San Francisco, California.

dougfl07 has contributed a photo to this story.

8
Lidor Wyssocky
Lidor Wyssocky

at 11:23 on August 13th, 2008

"Recycled" - Photograph by Lidor Wyssocky.

All Rights Reserved.

Feel free to visit my site for more of my works: www.LidorWyssocky.com


Lidor Wyssocky has contributed a photo to this story.

7
artistjoy Joy Johnson
artistjoy Joy Johnson

at 17:53 on August 13th, 2008

I've witnessed a fabulous waste reincarnation process athttp://groups.myspace.com/SwimmingPoolFanClub.
Please visit and join. Luvf Joy.

artistjoy Joy Johnson has contributed a photo to this story.

8
Leona Hobbs
Leona Hobbs

at 06:11 on August 15th, 2008

The new City of Toronto recycling program sees residents provided with bins in one of three sizes. This is the extra large bin. Toronto also uses bins for garbage (on a user pay basis) and has a Green bin program for organic waste.

Leona Hobbs has contributed a photo to this story.

6
Djun Kim
Djun Kim

at 22:59 on August 19th, 2008

The Regional District of Nanaimo is nearing the end of a twelve month pilot project (http://www.rdnfoodwaste.ca/welcome.asp) to determine the feasibility of operating a municipal or region-wide curbside food waste collection program. Compostable food waste is collected in special bins, picked up every two weeks and brought to a central composting facility. The photo here shows the curbside bin, a kitchen bin, and three boxes of compostable bags, all distributed as part of the pilot project.

Djun Kim has contributed a photo to this story.

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Uwe Paschen
First Flagged at 5:54 AM, Aug 11, 2008 by Uwe Paschen
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