Paper Recycling And The Little Old Ladies

To see little old ladies pushing carts about town laden with old newspapers and card for recycling is a reassuring one from an environmental point of view - it shows that paper recycling is alive and kicking and it is a common sight in many developing cities.

But, there is good reason to guard against complacency.

I would guess that more than half the paper waste which could have been recovered worldwide is still ending up in landfills, and most of that is paper used in factories, offices and homes.

Whereas some forms of paper such as cardboard (used in packaging, for example) have a high recycling rate of (in some nations reported to be about 80 per cent), ordinary paper is not nearly so well catered for. In many nations we suspect that less than 20 per cent of ordinary paper is being recycled.

The issue is an important one because it shows that there is still a low level of environmental awareness among the general public. Many people in many nations are still not aware of why they should recycle and how they could do so.

Now we have all been told to recycle paper to save the forests, and to save the energy use of cutting down and shipping such vast amounts of paper around the world, which contributes to global warming.

For many people these reasons simply are not compelling enough forests are a long way away for many of us, and still more of us simply switch-off when told yet again about climate change.

So in this article I would like to try again, with some more really close to home reasons.

The reasons for recycling are simple enough: landfills almost everywhere are filling up more quickly than anticipated and so space must be conserved in every way possible.

This means reducing waste, whether by recycling, reusing or generating less waste, and exploring technical alternatives such as truly smokeless clean-burn incinerators.

Another good reason for reducing waste is that it can help your local industry. Recycling will bring new business to local paper and it can be guaranteed that paper recycling businesses will grow and increase employment as a result.

My final reason is that filling up landfills means that new ones must be found as replacements. What would you think if the next landfill was going to be at the bottom of YOUR back garden?

So, I hope my additional reasons have been more convincing. But, what do we think about the little old lady I mentioned at the start of the article?

The little old lady collecting waste paper is not a negative in my view. Let us encourage the little old lady style of informal sector, especially in the developing nations where this job may be her only means of earning an honorable livelihood. However, if she and thousands like her are going to be effective they need to be backed-up by a comprehensive recycling system on a large scale across the whole range of recyclable materials in the average waste bin.

So, overall it is the segregation, sorting and transporting recycled materials like waste paper to the recyclers where the most action is needed. Although there are hundreds of private waste collectors, their efforts are hindered by the lack of waste separation at source in many homes, offices and factories.

Taking just paper as an example, it must be separated in order to prevent contamination by food waste or other substances which can affect the recycling process. There must also be regular collection so that paper does not pile up and pose a fire hazard or attract pests.

Now think of all the different types of waste you throw away almost daily, and multiple the complexity of sorting, storing, handling and transporting these materials each to different recyclers. This is a massive undertaking, but it really has to be done to improve the sustainability of our cities and of our way of life.

Recycling may be a growing business in worldwide, but there is much more that can be done, not only for paper but also materials such as glass, cans and plastic. It will only be done if the public press their politicians to improve their record for recycling, and are willing themselves to do the work of sorting, washing, and storing individual waste items every day and putting them out for collection.

In many developed nations it is surprising how many people are willing to do this and indeed now see it as their duty. The developing nations are sure to follow. A recent report in the United Kingdom recently claimed that 80% of home owners in one area where happy to sort a very wide range of their rubbish items for separate kerbside collection by their local authority. So will you join the trend?