Didsbury Village loses it's bottle
The UK, as with the rest of the EU, has a growing problem with garbage and waste so it's good to see Didsbury doing it's bit by introducing the new bottle bank on Wilmslow road. Many people in the village who have no transport will find this very handy and much easier than dragging their bottles to Tesco at Parrswood.
We thought this would be a good opportunity to provide some further info and resources for those of you keen on recycling and others that may be neglecting to do their bit for the local environment. If you would like to express an opinion on Didsbury as a recycling leader or a garbage hotspot then why not strike up a topic in the Didsbury Forum or send us your comments even if you are just talking rubbish.
Top bottle bank facts
- The first bottle bank was opened in the UK in 1977
- There are now more than 18,000 public bottle banks in the UK
- That's approximately one bottle bank for every 2600 people
- Glass recycling is one of the more successful initiatives in the UK recycling industry
- Around 29% (500,000 tonnes) of glass is collected from bottle banks around the country.
- The average glass bottle contains at least 25% recycled glass, with some green bottles containing up to 90%.
- Every day over 14 million glass bottles and jars end up in landfill. That works out at 300 bottles and jars for the average family each year.
- At around 3,000 bottles and jars in a tonne that's the equivalent of almost XXX million bottles! ( YOU WORK IT OUT)
The Benefits of Recycling
- Recycling reduces pollution caused by manufacturing from raw materials and through the disposal of waste at landfill sites
- Saves natural resources and extends the life of raw material reserves
- Conserves wildlife habitats where materials are extracted
We need to change behaviour as well as attitudes. Small steps from everyone at home and at work will bring big changes. But good intentions can't solve a problem this big - only good habits can.
How we rate as a nation of recyclers
New Government statistics show that household recycling rose by around 1 per cent - from 11.2 per cent to 12.4 per cent - leaving the UK languishing near the bottom of Europe's recycling league table. EU recycling league table (Source: Environmental Signals 2002 - European Environment Agency).
64% Austria (recycling 24 %/ compost 40 %)
52 % Belgium (37 %/15 %)
48% Germany *
47 % Netherlands (24%/23%)
39 % Denmark (25%/14%)
33 % Finland (30%3%)
33 % Sweden (25%/8%)
27 % Spain (16%/11%)
16 % Italy (7%/9%)
14 % France (8%/6%)
11 % UK (9%/2%) (2000/1)
9 % Portugal (4%/5%)
8 % Greece (8%/0%)
Other stuff you can recycle
Junk mail
Nappies
Smart shopper
Composting
Bikes
Furniture
IT equipment
Paint
Cans glass
Cartridges paper
Mobile phones
Plastics
Batteries textiles
Contact the local environment agency for details of disposal and recycling schemes
Manchester Environmental Health
General Enquiries
Environmental Health
PO Box 463
Town Hall Extension
Manchester
M60 3NY
Tel: 0161 234 4854
Fax: 0161 234 4871
Textphone: 0161 234 4505
More interesting rubbish
What is Pete?
Who is Pete and why is his name on the bottom of a plastic bottle? You've probably seen the little triangles and numbers on the bottoms of plastic bottles. But what do all these little numbers and triangles mean?
It's all about code and recycling. Because many plastics can be made cheaply, they are often used to make disposable items. This kind of use creates lots of waste. Recycling plastic is one way to reduce the amount of waste.
Before plastics can be recycled, they must be sorted. Many different kinds of materials are used as plastics, and most cannot be mixed, in the same way that oil and water can't be mixed. To help separate one kind of plastic from another, many items have a triangle printed on them, with a number inside. The code stamped on your bottle tells you where it came from and what it was made of.
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