aNO community which tolerates wasting of waste can legitimately claim to be sustainable. But, when the powers that be move in the right direction, let us give thanks.
The kerbside collection of recyclables in West Devon is a case in point. Clearly, however, there is an urgent need for improvement as the following fact and figures demonstrate:
In West Devon:
l only 20 per cent of household and kerbside and civic amenity waste is recycled.
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l only 60-70 per cent of households participate in the kerbside recycling scheme.
l only a minority of households recycle all possible recyclables.
l recyclables are continually being put in gash bags or bins and so wasted.
l recyclables are seen littering hedges, verges, ditches and public space.
l compostable/digestible (green cone!) garden and food wastes are continually put in gash bags or bins and so wasted.
l dry, cleanly burnable, potential fuelling material, such as bits of wood, leather, latex rubber, waxed cartons, food wrappers, and polythene are continually put in black gash bags or bins and wasted.
Local authority involvement in household waste collection began as a public health measure, but there would be no need for such services if each of us were more diligent about waste reduction, re-use, recycling, composting, or combusting for heat or power within our own curtilage.
Making waste is, after all, a lifestyle choice, with the possible exception of organic body and food wastes.
In my view, the beneficial utilisation of waste should be compulsory. It is the way to prevent the sterilisation of countryside by mining, quarrying and tipping and the consequent loss of habitats. We should recycle because it is self-evidently the right thing to do.
A Langdon
Homer
Mary Tavy