Recycling crime
I couldn’t agree with you more about people needing to consider the negative effects pollution has on our environment. I had a similar experience to Csilla when I went to Canada for a year before university. When I arrived the family I stayed with showed me how to separate the rubbish. This took me by surprise because at that time the UK was lagging behind many other countries in this respect. However, these days the UK has become far stricter about people dividing their waste. I was reading an interesting article recently about a woman in the UK who was accused of putting the wrong kind of rubbish into her dustbin and she faced charges and a possible fine. You can listen to that story, and other related ones, by clicking HERE. What do you think about this?
In Japan, it is also quite strict regarding what you can chuck out and when. Every Monday and Thursday is ‘burnable rubbish’ day. Every other Wednesday is cans, bottles and plastics. On alternate Wednesdays it’s ‘non-burnable’ rubbish day. And once a week you can put out bigger rubbish, such as furniture. However, in certain areas you have to pay for people to come and take your larger rubbish away and recycle it. When we wanted to throw away our old fridge we called the local refuse collector and they told us it would cost about 30 pounds to collect and recycle it. The fridge was still in perfect working order and it seemed a shame to destroy it, so we sold it on an internet auction site instead. We didn’t make a profit on it, but at least we saved a little money and helped the environment.
I think that the only way to encourage, or force, people to recycle is by imposing strict penalties on those who pollute. I think hitting people in the pocket is a sure way to minimise excess waste and encourage recycling. Perhaps charging people extra who produce rubbish over a certain weight limit? This may encourage more illegal dumping, though. It's a tricky issue...
As you say we only have a few days left. Lets’ make the most of it and go out with a bang!
Lewis
Useful English from today’s post:
(to) have a similar experience to someone
(to) separate/divide rubbish/waste
something takes you by surprise
(to) lag behind someone/something
(to) accuse someone of (doing) something
(to) face charges/a fine
(to) chuck out rubbish OR (to) chuck rubbish out (informal)
something is in imperfect working order
(to) make a profit (on something)
(to) save money
(to) impose (strict) penalties
(to) hit people in the pocket
(to) make the most of something
(to) go out with a bang!
Comments
Hi Lewis and Anita, It’s so good that we can do so much by doing so little. In Poland, for example, there is an EKON Association based in Warsaw, which expects us only to select the rubbish (paper, plastic, glass, metals) and put it into the special ecological bags. Instead they give workplaces to a great number of those threatened with social exclusion such as homeless, unemployed, and disabled (physically and psychically) people. The EKON’s workers collect the bags and transport them to the sorting plant were the waste is carefully segregated. At the next stage it is processed by the baling machine and send to the packaging recyclers. The workers, who pick up the bags, usually work in pairs and the stronger one is a leader. They like to familiarize with those waiting for them with full bags (I mean institutions and inhabitants of housing estates), they love to have a chat but most of all they appreciate possibility to work. EKON conducts also an ecological education and get the message out there that this so easy to have your own contribution to environment protection.
hey lewis and anita, its good that you guys are tring to get so many people into recycling. here in belfast our council is trying a new recycling habbit called ''the 3R's''. this habbit is named 3R's to stand for''reduce & re-use & recycle'' many people all over the world are trying to do this. i am a child and i am 11 years old.i feel that the waste facilities are not going to be there forever and it wont be us that suffer for the mess that we made. it will be are great grandchildren..... everyone needs to play a part in the campaign! its our city its our country its our world and we need to take care of it, and clean up the mess that were making! thanks...get back to me with any suggestions for my school yours faithfully lauren kerr
Hi, Davies~! I have just visited here today. During the article I found the expression I can't understand so I asked my Austrilan friend about the mean. Unfortunatly, I couldn't get the mean. If you don't mind, would you explian the mean of "hit people in the pocket" to me.
Thanks for all your contributions. This blog has now closed and can no longer accept new comments.
