Recycling dilemma

[kiloran]

I'm not a total fanatic but I do prefer to recycle wherever possible.

We use Carex handwash like this https://carex.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ ... 00x600.jpg in kitchen and bathrooms.
Rather than throw them away when empty, I am told to buy refills, like this https://carex.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ ... 00x600.jpg

Makes sense to me. Except the pouches cannot be easily recycled. I would have to use the TerraCycle system https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/ which would entail a 12 mile drive to the nearest recycling point.

What to do? Buy the plastic bottles which can go in our normal council bin to be recycled (except for the pump, presumably) or buy the pouches to reduce the amount of plastic, but then throw the pouches in the council general waste bin to go to landfill?

--kiloran

[Mike4]

How about using a traditional bar of soap?

[kempiejon]

One of our local school collected all sorts of not usually recyclables, they get points or pounds I think. They did those coffee pods, dental bits, crisps packets and some other odd bits. I think it's the sort of things charities might do to, so you know how to find any nearby organisations that might be into that? With everything closed perhaps not so easy to find out about but they might be out there. Like in the olden days where we collected stamps or milk bottle tops for the scouts or Blue Peter.

[JohnB]

plastic has almost no value as a feedstock when recyclyed, its benefit is reducing landfill and saving the landfill tax. I suspect the much lighter pouches going to landfill is better than the bottles going round the recycling route, where its often landfilled or burnt anyway if the market vagaries argue against it.

Specialty collection schemes involve far too much manual work to sort and collect. They tend to be as gimmicky as milk-bottle tops, and make people feel less guilty about their other waste streams, or act as virtue signalling from companies. Keep things simple.

[EssDeeAitch]

How about using a traditional bar of soap?

Take a dozen upticks

[Dod101]

Unilever do the same with their Kitchen and Bathroom cleaners, the difference being that thei small containers of concentrate are also recyclable. PZCussons, the manufacturers of Carex, probably have a consumer helpline. If you feel strongly enough about it give them a ring. Alternatively just chuck the plastic container for the refill away and console yourself with the money you have saved someone in the cost of transport. When I look at the junk that goes into the general household skip at the Council facility, my half full small bin every couple of weeks is not adding much. What annoys me is it is mostly non recyclable plastic food wrapping.

Dod

[Nocton]

You're Council is a bit behind the times. All our unrecyclable stuff goes to an incinerator and is recycled into electricity. They like some plastic in the mix to increase the energy of the 'fuel'. In fact we are encouraged not to put 'dodgy' stuff into the recycling bin so that they have a good quality feed for the recycling plant. If your council is still sending to landfill, it will be costing you, a council tax payer, and the cost will go up each year.

[kiloran]

How about using a traditional bar of soap?

Next question..... how to persuade my wife?

--kiloran

[marronier]

I refill my Carex with a supermarket own brand bath foam.

[Bminusrob]

How about using a traditional bar of soap?

Next question..... how to persuade my wife?

--kiloran

1. Take bar of soap to kitchen
2. Put bar of soap plus a little water into food blender
3. Blend for 30 seconds
4. Put result into carex bottle
5. Make a point of leaving soapy sludge in blender
6. Light blue touch paper
7. Stand well back.

[dspp]

I'm not a total fanatic but I do prefer to recycle wherever possible.

We use Carex handwash like this https://carex.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ ... 00x600.jpg in kitchen and bathrooms.
Rather than throw them away when empty, I am told to buy refills, like this https://carex.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ ... 00x600.jpg

Makes sense to me. Except the pouches cannot be easily recycled. I would have to use the TerraCycle system https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/ which would entail a 12 mile drive to the nearest recycling point.

What to do? Buy the plastic bottles which can go in our normal council bin to be recycled (except for the pump, presumably) or buy the pouches to reduce the amount of plastic, but then throw the pouches in the council general waste bin to go to landfill?

--kiloran

Rinse out an old milk container.

Visit your local store, such as, https://www.zerowastenear.me/item/down-to-earth-dorset/

Fill with handwash soap, pay.

Return home, fill the little branded bottle dispenser. Pop the remainder in the cupboard in the milk container. Repeat until empty.

Return to your local store, repeat.

(your wife need never know)

Simples

regards, dspp

[Loup321]

Given all the options you have, I would probably go with buying the refill pouches. They have less material, so used less resources, and they also weigh less so cost less in fuel transportation costs.

What to do with them though.

Firstly, check again your Council waste and recycling website. Mine only recycles plastic types 1 and 2, and the rest are incinerated. Maybe they don't even recycle the proper containers. Whether you consider incineration more or less acceptable than landfill is up to you. My Council only take harder plastics, but yours may differ. Mine will take TetraPak, although I'm not sure what they do with them. They say it doesn't matter to them whether you put TetraPak in landfill or reclycing containers.

If you're sure that they would be going to landfill, and you have a small amount of space somewhere, save them up until you are in the town where the TerraCycle collection point is. Do you go there for Christmas shopping? Is there a nice restaurant or pub you might go to one day? Is it on the way to a friend's house? I have a pile of Kenco refill pouches that I have not taken anywhere for about 4 years, and it's still very small. But do check the TerraCycle website before you head out as they close collection points and open new ones all the time.

Or search the internet for how to make it yourself recipes. Probably going a bit too far, but probably what I would do.

[tjh290633]

One of the main considerations in recycling is the saving in materials and energy by not using new raw materials.

I was asked the question the other day, what is the advantage of using recycled glass in glass melting?

The answer is that you save raw materials and also the energy required to melt the glass is lower when it has a significant level of recycled glass in the batch. Green glass is made almost exclusively from receycled glass, because so much wine is imported in green bottles. In old money, you need 2.2MBtu/ton to melt from 100% raw materials and about 1.8MBtu/ton from recycled glass.

That is a significant cost saving.

TJH

[JohnB]

Recycling metal, especially aluminum drinks cans, is well worth it. Glass less so but still good even given the high weight. Plastic recycling is very marginal, its a complicated admixture hard to separate, bulky, and often its just cheaper to make from fresh ingredients. This became especially true when China stopped accepting the world's waste. The reason to recycle plastic is all based on avoiding burying in landfill, , and as landfill taxes are applied to the end user, not the producer, its not incorporated in the production cost.

Burning plastic waste can be just viewed like burning oil. But when I went on a tour of the Peterborough incineration plant they were very reluctant to admit they like a bit of plastic in their waste stream to boost the calorific value. They have a picking system that looks out for nasty stuff coming in. They hate calor gas tanks because they go boom, but also aren't keen on UPVC windows as the chlorine stresses their scrubbers.

There are no simple answers for plastics, but I think incineration for power is probably best.