News
Soap Box - should recycling refuseniks face fines?
London's Brent council has launched a £1,000 fine for residents who don't recycle, while a study from Wrap has claimed that punitive charges would push households to recycle more. So in this week's Soap Box, we are asking: should fines be imposed to force people to recycle?
The Tories, at least, think not – last month, shadow chancellor George Osborne claimed that a Conservative government would instead offer cash incentives, rather than fines, to homes to encourage them to recycle.
Click here to read about Wrap’s study
Click here to read about Brent borough council’s fines
Click here to read about the Tories’ proposals
So what is the answer? How should we improve household recycling rates? Would the proposed schemes work? And what role can or should packaging companies play in improving residential recycling?
Soap Box is the industry’s forum to have its say on the issues surrounding packaging - so log in and give us your views below.
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Comments
James Smith - 13 August 2008
I've said it elsewhere on this site but I think fines for non-recycling are crazy. Much better to incentivise the public to recycle, and perhaps make some money out of it to help out our tired recycling infrastructure. That could help...
Walter Lewis - 14 August 2008
What better way to piss people off! Engaging with the public about the enviroment needs to be about positive reinforcement......there are well valaidated approaches to this. Perhaps Brent Council need to do some background reading or go back to school and learn a bit of basic psychology.
Walter Lewis
Faraday Packaging Partnership
James Smith - 14 August 2008
Indeed. By the way, has anyone seen today's Daily Mail - they've done a Su Doku on how difficult recycling is... link here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1044614/Recycling-household-waste-tests-brain-Sudoku.html
Strikes me as nonsense, but what do you expect?
Des King - 14 August 2008
Fine people for non-compliance; reward people for putting out their rubbish - however you cut it, they're the balancing sides of a politico take on what makes the electorate sit up and take notice viz. straight to the wallet rather than the hearts & minds. Either way, given all the ramifications of apportioning penalty or compensation on an individual basis, I would imagine that the only real beneficiaries will be the legal system. Brent's barminess and Cameron's kite-flying are equally examples of a politician's readiness to jump onto a populist bandwaggon - and what else might one expect in the 'silly season'. In any case, I thought that we were already paying to have the rubbish collected. 'Refuseniks' might well be irresponsible etc, but fining people for not utilising the service is making them pay on top of what they've already paid for. As in the world according to Brent we're living in a holier than thou, sanctimonious culture I await the day when a restaurant adds an extra amount onto the bill for food left uneaten on the plate.
PS. 'The Daily Mail', James? Tut tut ...
David Munden - 14 August 2008
David Munden 14th August 2008
I have a shock for Des King. two Chinese restaurants I have been to lately do an 'eat as much as you like offer'. However, if you leave a dish, they charge you for it! I wonder if they recycle it to the next customer!
As for household recycling, every householder has a duty to maximise recycling to help save the environment. However, councils should be made to make it as easy as possible. They should not be bureaucratic or use it for extra revenue by fining people for genuine mistakes or leaving their dustbin lid open by 4 inches. Unfortunately, this will not happen as this country is full of highly paid bureaucrats whose only real expertise is to make our life a misery and council employees who will use any law possible to make extra money. To think we are not only paying their inflated salaries but their pensions. I just hope they leave their dustbin lid off when they retire.
Philip Rogers - 14 August 2008
I think it is high time that we stopped trying to use "big levers" to sort out a very simple problem.
1. If a business will not pay for a recycled product, find a profitable way of disposal - burn it and recover the energy etc..
2. If something has a value e.g metals, do everything to recover it, even by deposits if necessary. In any case it is stupid to mix steel and aluminioum, and then have to sort them out before recycling.
3. Don't mix collection problems - bins in the wrong place, lids not closed etc. with recycling. Recycling is an industrial process, and must be recognised as such.
4.Make sure that the money recovered by the councils for recycled material is known to everyone, as it should be used to cut council tax. If that isn't enough incentive, i don't kbnow what is!
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