Recycling
Sep 6th 2007 | 7:25 am
#31
The Cookie Monsters
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 198
From: Lancashire
Re: Recycling
We love Freecycle. It's pretty well used over here and you can get anything and I mean anything for free.
I know it defeats the purpose but we've got things like a sea kayak, leather chesterfield, bike etc, sold them on ebay and made enough money to pay for one of our flights over....erm, slightly UN enviro friendly I know!
We'll be repaying the aquisitions though as we'll be putting all our stuff on there, which we can't sell before we depart.
Last thing I saw on there was a half-used bottle of hair dye
and there are ALWAYS baby hamsters looking for homes.
I know it defeats the purpose but we've got things like a sea kayak, leather chesterfield, bike etc, sold them on ebay and made enough money to pay for one of our flights over....erm, slightly UN enviro friendly I know!
We'll be repaying the aquisitions though as we'll be putting all our stuff on there, which we can't sell before we depart.
Last thing I saw on there was a half-used bottle of hair dye
and there are ALWAYS baby hamsters looking for homes.
Sep 6th 2007 | 8:33 am
#32
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,710
Re: Recycling
I think, but am not sure, that geoexchange will be more popular in some parts than solar. It can be used for summer cooling as well. Its certainly a growth industry in canada.
Sep 6th 2007 | 11:29 pm
#33
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 40,070
From: Ontario
Re: Recycling
The problem with solar, or any other secondary domestic power source, in Ontario is the structure of the electric bill. Much of the bill is a fixed charge for connecting to the power grid. For example, our most recent bill is for $204.99 of which $31.80 is the charge for electricity @ 5.3cents/kWh and the rest connection charges and whatnot. Ontario Hydro (or the successor companies to) have been astonishingly badly run and must amortize the cost of privatization schemes, yacht sails, unsuccessful attempts at starting nuclear power stations, affirmitive action programs and the promotion of alternative lifestyles (at one point the head of Ontario Hydro also ran a fringe religion from a mountain top in the US Rockies). All of this means that, unless a house can be completely disconnected from the grid, solar panels and the like can only chip away at a small portion of the bill; on that basis they're not cost effective.
Sep 7th 2007 | 1:03 am
#34
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 681
From: Sherwood Park, Alberta
Re: Recycling
Toronto has some recycling. Bottles, cardboard and plastic are recycled. Otoh, the rest of the garbage is trucked to a landfill on the other side of Michigan and there is a "green bin" policy. The green bin is for non-compostable food waste, basically meat, people put their meat scrapes in the green bin for the raccoons and any feral former pets to scatter across the street; this promotes urban pests. The sanitary sewers cannot cope with heavy rain and vent into the storm sewers washing raw sewage into the lake.
Elsewhere in Ontario the policy varies with the township. Where we are now they collect bottles, cardboard, styrofoam, various other things but not plastic; that's buried with the rubbish.
I don't think Ontario does well on other green issues. For example,
it's unlawful to label products as not being genetically modified so as to prevent the producers gaining a commercial advantage over GM manufacturers.
Free range eggs cannot be sold but factory farmed eggs can be labelled "free run".
If you want raw milk you have to buy the cow.
Almost all Ontario's power is generated by nuclear power stations.
Organic food is widely available but it's mainly flown in from California or South America.
Public transit is, by and large, useless.
Canada does however make efficient use of the seal population.
Please note that while I read the Guardian and knit my own yogurt I am not even vaguely econutterish; my beer comes from Chiswick.
Elsewhere in Ontario the policy varies with the township. Where we are now they collect bottles, cardboard, styrofoam, various other things but not plastic; that's buried with the rubbish.
I don't think Ontario does well on other green issues. For example,
it's unlawful to label products as not being genetically modified so as to prevent the producers gaining a commercial advantage over GM manufacturers.
Free range eggs cannot be sold but factory farmed eggs can be labelled "free run".
If you want raw milk you have to buy the cow.
Almost all Ontario's power is generated by nuclear power stations.
Organic food is widely available but it's mainly flown in from California or South America.
Public transit is, by and large, useless.
Canada does however make efficient use of the seal population.
Please note that while I read the Guardian and knit my own yogurt I am not even vaguely econutterish; my beer comes from Chiswick.
It's a shame that the UK do not have similar recycling facilities as Canada. The area of Manchester in which I live has justed started to introduce recycling and hardly anyone ever recycles - but they winge when their bins are over flowing with rubbish!
Manchester City Council are about to introduce a fine for anyone whos bin lid does not shut, I think its something like £15 and for every bag that is on the floor, it will be £25.
Karla x x x
Sep 7th 2007 | 1:29 am
#35
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 40,070
From: Ontario
Re: Recycling
I'm shocked about the eggs.
It's a shame that the UK do not have similar recycling facilities as Canada. The area of Manchester in which I live has justed started to introduce recycling and hardly anyone ever recycles - but they winge when their bins are over flowing with rubbish!
Manchester City Council are about to introduce a fine for anyone whos bin lid does not shut, I think its something like £15 and for every bag that is on the floor, it will be £25.
Karla x x x
It's a shame that the UK do not have similar recycling facilities as Canada. The area of Manchester in which I live has justed started to introduce recycling and hardly anyone ever recycles - but they winge when their bins are over flowing with rubbish!
Manchester City Council are about to introduce a fine for anyone whos bin lid does not shut, I think its something like £15 and for every bag that is on the floor, it will be £25.
Karla x x x
We hardly generate any rubbish even without being zealots. By the time we've recycled and composted the two and a quarter of us barely fill a shopping bag every fortnight. It's surprisingly easy not to generate more.
I understand the egg legislation, less people will ever get sick from eggs if the chickens are always on concrete. How many less I don't know but the legislation is about keeping an ignorant public safe. I'm more frustrated by the GM issue, local farmers who grow non-GM but not quite organic crops could gain a real advantage if they could sell to producers who could sell products labelled as non-GM. Instead the legislation favours the agri-conglomerates.
Sep 7th 2007 | 2:38 am
#36
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 15
From: West Yorkshire
Re: Recycling
We love Freecycle. It's pretty well used over here and you can get anything and I mean anything for free.
I know it defeats the purpose but we've got things like a sea kayak, leather chesterfield, bike etc, sold them on ebay and made enough money to pay for one of our flights over....erm, slightly UN enviro friendly I know!
We'll be repaying the aquisitions though as we'll be putting all our stuff on there, which we can't sell before we depart.
Last thing I saw on there was a half-used bottle of hair dyeand there are ALWAYS baby hamsters looking for homes.
I know it defeats the purpose but we've got things like a sea kayak, leather chesterfield, bike etc, sold them on ebay and made enough money to pay for one of our flights over....erm, slightly UN enviro friendly I know!
We'll be repaying the aquisitions though as we'll be putting all our stuff on there, which we can't sell before we depart.
Last thing I saw on there was a half-used bottle of hair dye
and there are ALWAYS baby hamsters looking for homes.
It is completely against the principles of Freecycle to take items with the sole intention of selling them, and your excuse that you will put other items on Freecycle before you leave is pure whitewash. Hopefully the gods of karma are watching and will extract their revenge accordingly :curse:
