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Articles about the Saltash Bag project

The initial burst of Saltash Bag Tax with most shops requesting a donation to Cornwall Wildlife Trust in exchange for a plastic carrier bag has raised a total of £187 (after taking out a few foreign coins (those who dropped them in should be ashamed of themselves - if you object to paying for a plastic bag then say so, don't pretend that you are giving something, you despicable little rat - you know who you are and everyone things you are pathetic).

Mixed feelings about whether this is a good result or not - on the one hand it is excellent to raise a bit of money for a local charity and at the same time raise awareness that plastic carries an environmental cost, but on the other hand if everyone was just saying 'no thank you' to a plastic bag and bringing their own proper shopping bags then we should collect no money at all, and the shops would cease giving out plastic bags at all...

Plastic Recycling - FAQ's

Projects - Saltash Bags

What is recycling?

The purpose of recycling is to divert a waste product to a re-processor who can then make that item into a new product. While almost everything is technically recyclable in many cases processing is either not available, would be too expensive or environmentally costly to achieve.

All plastic is the same....isn't it?

Plastics pose a particular problem due to the number of different types and blends of polymers that combine to make "plastic" and the lack of producer consistency in the types of plastic that are used for different items.

What type of plastic can be recycled?

In theory all types of plastic can be recycled. However, the only two types of plastic, PET and HOPE, have viable European markets. Plastic bottles are almost exclusively made from these two types of plastic, which is why we can collect them either at kerbside or in banks depending on the local authorities' services. In Cornwall, we collect all plastic bottles including milk, drinks, detergent and cosmetics.

What about other types of plastic?

Other plastic items (yoghurt pots, meat trays etc.) may be made from PET or HOPE, but more commonly from a blend of plastics. In order to make these into a product which can be used again (recycled) they need to be converted into a stream of a specific material. This would be prohibitively expensive to do on an industrial scale, as each individual item would need to be inspected and segregated by hand and referencing the little number on the base of each item.

Why can some areas collect all plastics?

Some collection authorities operate a co-streamed collection scheme. This asks householders to put all their material for recycling into one bin. The main motivation for co-streamed collection is not the greater number of different types of material collected, but rather that participation in the recycling generally increases. However, co-streamed collections have the disadvantage of the recyclate being contaminated and this can result in up to 30% of the collected materials being rejected to landfill, we do NOT undertake this type of collection in Cornwall

What happens to the plastics in other areas where they are co-collected?

The collected materials are taken to a central location and industrially separated at a plant called a MRF (materials recycling facility). However, as no sustainable market exists for plastics other than HOPE and PET, the other plastic items are rejected at the MRF and sent to landfill or an "Energy from Waste" plant etc. Alternatively, mixed plastics may be shipped overseas (usually the Far East) for "recycling". There are two reasons that the local authorities in Cornwall do not believe mixed plastics should be exported.

Firstly, the Proximity Principle set out in Defra's Waste Strategy 2007, states that "waste should generally be disposed of as near to its place of origin as possible. This is in part to ensure that we do not simply export problems to other regions or countries. It also involves recognition that the transportation of wastes can have a significant environmental impact"

Secondly, there is not a sufficiently stringent audit trail associated with sending mixed plastics to the Far East to be recycled. Historically industrial plants in the Far East are not strictly regulated and there have been cases where exported plastics have been land-filled or incinerated rather than recycled, without any of the environmental controls that exist in the UK. There is also some doubt whether workers are subject to fair working conditions.

What happens in Cornwall?

All of the collection authorities in Cornwall operate a "Kerbside Sorted" scheme, householders are asked to sort their waste and it is collected separately at the kerb to enable minimal sorting at the MRF or BUF (bulking up facility). This gives a much more consistent end product and is a more sustainable method of collecting plastics.

Can kerbside services be extended to collect all plastic?

Collecting all plastics would have a major impact on kerbside logistics requiring more lorries and collection crews. Plastic is very light and thus has a large volume. One tonne of plastics is equivalent to 20,000 two litre drinks bottles or 120,000 carrier bags (LINPAC, 2001). Additionally, recycling collection is financed via the weight in tonnes of waste diverted from landfill; therefore plastic is a less economically viable recyclate than heavier materials such as glass or steel.

Is the situation going to improve?

The Government has tasked Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to propose improvements to UK markets for many materials including plastics and it is hoped new re-processors will set up in the UK, enabling serious consideration be given to other combinations of polymers that make up "plastic".

For further information please contact the Waste Awareness Team:

Telephone: 01872 323893

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Plastic Planet

Plastic Planet is a 10 minute film about plastic bags that can be found on MySpace videos - well worth a look.

Not just any old bag

Why should Saltash go plastic bag free?

The case

Plastic bags are convenient. You just pick them up, chuck your shopping in and tote it all home. Once there, you unload all your goods, and stuff the plastic bag in a drawer for later reuse or more than likely, toss it in the bin. The average lifespan in terms of use for a carrier is an astounding 12 minutes. That's basically from supermarket to home, probably in a car.

However, the even worse story is just how long they actually hang around for - and what they can do in the process. Plastic bags can take up to 1000 years to degrade. During that time if they're not occupying space in landfill, or blowing about the country side littering our landscapes, they are probably polluting a wildlife habitat somewhere. Arguably, the worst case scenario is when they come into contact with the marine environment.

Plastic bags in the water look like food to most sealife. Mammals such as dolphins, whales and marine turtles, or sea birds and fishes can all mistake a plastic bag for food - they eat it and die, either from the effects or becoming so malnourished that they are too weak to survive. The outstanding recent BBC documentary 'Message in the Waves' highlighted this and other issues, including the sheer volume of plastic products and waste that ends up on shores across the world. Most beaches will have some degree of plastic contamination, but many are literally drowning in tonnes of discarded plastic ranging from old lighters to disposable toothbrushes, rope to tanks and boxes. It doesn't disintegrate for hundreds of years. It just stays there to scar another landscape and harm the environment.

And of course, this doesn't take into account the carbon footprint either. Plastic may be cheap and plentiful, but it requires significant energy to manufacture and as it - eventually- breaks down, it creates emissions of its own. So in this age of trying to cut our carbon footprint, we really should be looking at alternatives.

In Saltash, we're lucky enough to have one of the most spectacular river systems with the Tamar and Lynher coming together. That's a lot of marine environment on our doorstep. We're also surrounded by stunning countryside, with diverse wildlife and some areas of outstanding natural beauty. We want to keep it that way, not just for us, but future generations to enjoy.

What are we doing about it?

Firstly, we know we're not going to do this on our own. We need you and your support.

We're very grateful for the help we've had already. The mayor of Saltash, Bob Austin, has helped us persuade some of the shops in the town to consider selling bags for life but also switching to sustainable alternatives to plastic, which is fantastic news. The more that our traders support the campaign to make Saltash plastic bag free, the more we think people will like shopping there. In Modbury, which outlawed plastic bags in May, the town has seen trade increase significantly. The media are keenly following our progress as we're one of the first towns after Modbury to actually get something off the ground, so we're also grateful for their support.

Saltash Town Council have generously lent us funds to get our bags underway. But we're not going to sell just any old bag as a replacement for plastic carriers. Oh no.

We have commissioned some exceptionally lovely professionally designed cotton and jute carriers that every man, woman and child should be proud to sport. We've especially thought about the men - the good news is you will be able to fold up the cotton bags into discreet squares you can tuck into a trouser pocket, so there's really no excuse.

The bags are on order now, but as you might imagine, suddenly the world is waking up to the menace and harm that plastic bags do to our environment so they're becoming a popular commodity. We should have the first edition ready for sale in time for our first public meeting on 22 September.

I'm interested in helping - what's next?

Well, we've taken a few small steps, but now it's time to get more people involved and making sure everyone understands what's at stake. One of the first ways we want to do this is through a public meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend, and show your support for our traders, our community and the environment. We'll be publishing more information about it nearer the date, so do keep an eye out for the publicity in early September.