Scotland considers problems of comingled recycling
Wednesday, January 16, 2013 - 10:38:26
Depending on the part of the country in which you live, you will probably have a very different experience of recycling.
Some councils require that recyclable items are separated and stored in different receptacles before collection, while others allow residents to dump everything in one large recycling bin, in a practice called comingling.
Comingled recycling can be separated further down the line, which might seem like the costlier option. However, by taking this route, it means that councils can operate fewer collections.
In addition, a comingled approach is more likely to lead to higher rates of recycling, because from a resident's point of view, it is much easier to carry out, requiring none of the sorting at home that might otherwise be necessary.
Edinburgh City Council announced its intention to replace the multiple receptacle kerbside recycling solution currently in place with its own all-in-one bin solution.
This will allow locals to pop plastics, card, metals and paper into one bin, rather than separating them. There will still be separate containers for glass, electronics and textiles, which means that it is not a completely comingled scheme.
Meanwhile, there have been calls for the Scottish government to improve the levels of clarity over impending legislation, that would argue against comingling, unless specific conditions are met.
A 2015 deadline could see schemes like the one in Edinburgh put to an end, even if they seem to be offering a variety of benefits.
In particular, critics are worried about how glass recycling will be affected further down the line. As long as there is a parity when it comes to the quality of the recyclable materials received, via either comingling or separation methods, it seems like regulations will be less strict, although this is difficult to predict or ensure.
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