h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well theyu're excited about their worm farm alright! The biggest in the southern hemisphere!! That's a lot of worms. Just hope they get enough to eat.

It's an impressive sight the huge mounds of composted material waiting to be gorged upon by hungry wrigglers that's for sure.

So going back to this threads heading: How do we change the world?
Is the best avenue for action, to be just quietly aware of things that you can do on an individual level and do these things and hoping that those around you take heed of what your doing and that that way best practice spreads?

Or do agitate and jump up and down and shake the tree of governance?

Sometimes we agitate, sometimes we do nothing, sometimes we do our bit.
Some people always agitate, some people always do nothing, some people will always do their bit. It was thus ever so.
It will take a universal problem - alien invasion, global warming, global epidemic etc. before the world will unite. Until then everyone will persue their own corner of self interest. Its natural; what we evelove to do in order that our DNA can stand the best chance of replication.
Well, that's how I feel at 3.52 am!

It's definately something huge that'll need something even bigger to give the "do-nothings" a kick in the behind. I'd definately have to say we should all be doing our bit, but that the councils and governments should be helping us do it.

Like it should be easier to recycle with different bins for different things like glass, plastic, organic waste etc. And they shouldn't be so picky about what types of plastics, cardboads etc they take. Like, paper's paper and it's all recyclable, so they should take it all, not just certain things.

Agreed

It's just all so bonkers. Trying not to launch into a rant again though.

Rant away NPyet I don't understand why it's so hard for your Councils to do the right thing!
My recycling bin which is a fortnightly pickup says: All Plastics. All Paper Products. All Glass. All Metal.
What's so hard about that?

Get up the buggers!

I'm really, really surprised that the UK is so disjointed in it's approach to recycling, in such a small country with such a huge population you should be leaders not followers. Doesn't the EU have some good practices? I'm sure the Germans are leaders in this area(from memory), couldn't their approach be studied and adapted?

I keep hearing the usual stuff "by 2009..." etc. And as we've so many small councils, they can set their own rules wihin the government's rules.

I like your "All Plastics. All Paper Products. All Glass. All Metal." idea. Wish we had that. Can't put in old Christmas cards, but can put in a pizza box; a magazine with staples, but not glue; a plastic milk carton, but not those plastixc trays your pork chops come on. I know that certain plastics can't be melted and reshaped, but I'd have thought there'd still be something we could reuse them for, even just by shredding them for insulation or something.

Nearly all plastics come with those symbols on them that are internationally recognised, you know those little triangles with numbers in them? They represent all the different processes and very little is not reusable aka recyclable as far as I know.

A lot of urban municipal furniture like park benches, rubbish bins, signage as well as building materials like faux timber decking and fencing palings, drainage pipes (I use these in my work sometimes) are made from recycled plastics. It's usually a bit more expensive but it is almost impervious to all threats apart from fire and I'd guess chemical attack.

Have a look at these sites:- http://www.cosset.com.au/http://www.plaspanel.com.au/

It's a big business now.

Interestinhg. Brilliant ideas too.