Raise the recycling bar (From Salisbury Journal)
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Raise the recycling bar
6:00am Thursday 17th January 2013 in Salisbury Letters
WILTSHIRE Council has been quick to congratulate residents (and themselves) on “embracing the green culture” and being on track to meet 2014 targets for recycling (Journal, January 10).
There has been an increase in the amount of waste being recycled, but a six per cent rise in the past year is hardly a cause for jubilation, given the cost of the new schemes, and the reduction in the frequency of services.
And if a target is set low, then of course it is easier to meet.
I would ask the council to consider why it cannot set the bar higher, and include a scheme for recycling all plastics, not just bottles, or at least those with a “recyclable” logo.
Many other councils are able to offer this service and indeed in Salisbury, before unification, we were able to recycle plastics PEP 1, 2 and 3.
Food manufacturers seem slow to change their packaging policies and meanwhile our countryside is filling up with toxic waste.
Unless or until we have the option locally of recycling plastic containers, general waste bins will overflow and landfill sites in Wiltshire will contain large amounts of waste which, although not adding much to the cost per tonne payable as landfill tax, is environmentally unacceptable in the long term.
CAROL CARVELL, Salisbury
