Why is Wales so good at recycling?

alpha – thanks, that’s interesting.

From coal fired power stations, PFA (pulverized fly ash) is used to make cementitious grout. As coal fired stations are phased out, ash from other sources will be needed.

I also like the 3 compartment recycling sack trucks that are used in Wales. I think they’re a more elegant system than the general purpose green boxes we have in Gloucester or the wheelie bins they have in Malvern.

Many of the concerns about incinerating waste have focused on harmful emissions. A great deal of effort has been put into minimising these emissions, but it’s hardly surprising that no-one wants to live near an incineration plant. I’m also concerned about what people put in their wood burning stoves, which lack any way of controlling toxic emissions. I think we do need to focus more on the hazards of the ash from incineration, as you point out, Alfa.

I cannot agree about using household waste plastic in 3D printers. Many plastics contain toxic plasticisers and other additives that may not be a problem in normal use but heating them could release volatile harmful chemicals.

Last time I visited the Center for Alternative Technologies in Wales, they were continuing their excellent work in leading by example in more sustainable lifestyles. Their location within Wales may have had some influence on the uptake of recycling there.

For dry still sun-free days they had installed wood pellet fueled boilers as their back up energy source. (They make extensive local use of hydro, wind & solar, with storage batteries for the matching of supply and demand.)

I was curious why you like the three box system here, Derek. I spend my time envying those who have decent size coloured wheelie bins.

Alfa, your post (as always) is well researched, thought-provoking and accurate.

In terms of the header to this topic I think a few things need to be remembered: Wales is predominantly rural; where there are urban areas (mainly the South) there’s also massive deprivation and there are far too many terraced houses, which make recycling more difficult.

Wales’ population density overall is 383.3 per sq mile while England’s is 50,301 per sq mile. Many of us live in very remote places, with cattle, sheep, wild horses and a few goats as neighbours.

So in theory at least recycling ought to be far easier here than in the congested towns and cities of England. On the plus side collections of recyclable material are regular and predictable for the most part. However, we’re also a very clean and tidy principality, and one glaring issue is the amount of rubbish dropped out of the recycling wagons as they trundle up hills and between farms.

We do a great deal of walking and we’re always finding rubbish that’s been dropped just after a bin collection. So I don’t think it’s quite as clear a picture as the header suggests.

Ian, I think the main reasons why I like the three box system are:

1. making householders responsible for the first recycling stream separation choices helps promote the “we’re all in this together message”. In contrast, just checking everything into generic boxes won’t do that so well.

2. Once empty, here in the land of wind, rain and seagulls (aka Gloucester), our empty green boxes readily blow away. Lightly load full ones can too – scattering stuff every where. So the extra weight of the metal sack tucks may help to prevent that. Wheelie bins might not be as bad as boxes, but point one still applies.

A few years ago, when staying at Y Felinheli, my girlfriend made the mistake of putting empty milk containers at the top of the rubbish bin. When the bin men saw that, they did not empty that bin. So, effective administrative controls could also be a factor behind high compliance rates in Wales.

Good points, Derek. Yes – the green box folk do leave notes on boxes if they’re not sorted or if the wrong stuff has obviously been inserted. And here in the mountains, where the winds can get mighty strong, they don’t blow away easily – that’s true.

Y Felinheli is even blowier at times; but to compensate they have the only Waitrose within sixty miles 🙂

Ian, that’s interesting. I thought the only local Waitrose was just over the bridge on Anglesey. Bangor has a huge Tesco.

Also, just outside Y Felinheli is Greenwood Forest Park, where they have a people powered roller-coaster.

Indeed. And you’re right; the Waitrose is over the near bridge, turn R and follow the road. But that’s within the 60 miles 🙂

Here my nearest Waitrose is in Cheltenham town center, on the site of an old railway station.

This will just roll into the long grass and disappear from view. A plan that cannot be delivered is just a dream.

If only all the resources spent on writing this “plan” had been spent on devising practical ways of achieving parts of it……..But that requires people who can “do”. I suspect they are not abundant among politicians or their servants.

A 25 year plan is a waste of time unless it is accompanied by a detailed plan for each component that is both timely and achievable.