Why is Wales so good at recycling?

Michael Gove seems to like long-term plans. No one instigating them will be responsible if they ever come to fruition (or not). 25 years? I’d rather see specific separate plans committed to by all political parties so they do not just get changed or “kicked into the long grass”.

Waste – reduce it, stop burying it, don’t burn it unless it is clean and formulate a clear strategy for all packaging. We’ve Convos here with suggestions for eliminating it, reducing it and using limited recyclable materials. Have a common national policy for collecting and recycling.

Energy – we’ve limitless reliable and “green” energy from the tides all around our shores. It’s time we put the resources into developing that.

Pollution – work to ban all but the latest low emissions vehicles from towns and cities at peak times and provide public transport as the alternative.

Start with the key ones now. It only takes courage and determination.

Alternatively we could all go and live in Wales.

Michael Gove’s “Long Term Plan” covering the next 25 years is here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/693158/25-year-environment-plan.pdf

49 topics to cover ranging from
– Reducing litter and littering (prosecutions could help)
to
– Planting more trees in and around our towns and cities (they could have stopped Sheffied council from cutting their’s down)
– Achieving zero avoidable plastic waste by the end of 2042 (I’d have thought we could deal with avoidable waste in a year or two, not 25)
– Tackling climate change (that may take time)

It reads a bit like a think tank session that has put as many topics on post it notes as possible and then spent a lot of effort writing about them. Oh, and using a lot of paper presumably in printing the 151 page document.

However, I confess I have not read it 🙁 but I just groan when I see all-encompassing aspirational plans like this that, presumably, will rely upon ever-changing politics and governments for the next quarter century, let alone eliciting international cooperation (as we cannot on our own change the UK’s climate).

How do they propose to achieve this:
Putting the Plan into practice
 Consulting on setting up a new independent body to hold government to account and a
new set of environmental principles to underpin policy-making.
 Developing a set of metrics to assess progress towards our 25-year goals.
 Refreshing the 25 Year Environment Plan regularly to ensure that collectively we are
focusing on the right priorities, using the latest evidence, and delivering better value for
money.
 Strengthening leadership and delivery through better local planning, more effective
partnerships and learning from our four pioneer projects.
 Establishing a new green business council and exploring the potential for a natural
environment impact fund.
 Work closely with a large range of stakeholders over the coming year to identify their
contribution to the goals set out in this Plan.

I cannot see any actual plans here to reduce plastic waste, plant more trees, or reduce litter, but may have missed them. What I do see is new bodies set up, consultations, partnerships, a council……but actual action?

What I would hope to see is someone looking at the practicalities of, say, food packaging, proposing better options, getting agreement from all involved, and seeing it implemented in a year or two. What happened to returnable bottles for example? Some seem to think words will solve the problem, but it needs action, even if not perfect at the start.

I’m just in a slightly disillusioned mood today. 🙁

In her introduction, Vicki says: “Most of Wales’ 22 local authorities are signed up to the Collections Blueprint, which standardises collection of refuse and recycling.”

Does this mean that what can be recycled has been standardised or the bin/box system has been standardised in most of Wales. If both have been achieved then that would be a step forward and could encourage the rest of the UK to do the same.

It can be well worthwhile carrying out trials in part of the country in case there are unforeseen problems but if they go well I would like to see them rolled out without waiting for years.

Following the comments regarding waste sent to incinerators – I live in Swansea – Second city of Wales and we do not have an incinerator but plenty of site where if you wish you can take your waste to he many recycling skips. We also have fortnightly street collections of all out household rubbish and recycling goods. Well done Swansea.

What needs standardising is the type of packaging that manufacturers use.

Without wanting to stem innovation in packaging (which is necessary) we need to have products marketed in packaging (if they need it) that is easily recyclable. At present it feels that unless the public complains and revolts at the excessive and destructive amount of packaging – or legislation intervenes – we just have to put up with whatever the marketers think will sell the product. That is unsustainable. Just look at what pushovers people are for anything “free” despite what it is! (It isn’t free of course the cost of it will have been factored into the price of the item bought or the ones that you haven’t bought…yet.)

Meanwhile it seems that government just procrastinates until more and more incinerators are built rather than recycling facilities and IBA is added to the permissible list in order to reach good figures in the league tables. Nobody wants to live near them and technology moves fast – so it would be better to reduce the number being built, save the money but keep some planning space. Other countries in Europe have an over provision already.

What other countries don’t seem to have is as much packaging. There are regulations but government isn’t good enough at fining companies for breaching them (is there anybody left in Trading Standards or the authorities who would in the past have had this job) and the public isn’t vociferous enough in complaining about them, requesting to be able to take their own containers to be filled, requesting to have smaller portions and to automatically be offered take-home boxes for leftovers where portions have become overgenerous.