Recycling in Rother - improvements, yes, but is this the best we can do?

For me, recycling had always been an extra chore, something designed to make the trip to the supermarket that much longer as we stopped to chuck that week's bottles and papers into the overflowing bins in the car park. Still worth doing, yes, but I struggle to believe that the majority of local residents, especially those without cars, would have the time or energy to do this week in, week out. So to see something as easy as this -three separate bins to ensure that we don't unnecessarily throw away everything for landfill when much of it could be recycled -came as a revelation to me.

Thankfully, Rother Council finally saw sense last year by bringing in its own recycling system. Quite why it took so long I don't know, but now that we have it, that's not the point. All our bins were replaced with three others - a green box for paper, a black one for plastic and cans, and a big black one for everything else. Simple? You'd have thought so. Buteven after receivingbooklets to explain what can and can't be included, manyof usare still confused.

Can you recycle cardboard? Why can't glass be collected? Why not plastic bottle tops or tinfoil? Which kinds of metal can we put in and which can we not? I have to confess that my understanding of the difference between the plastic in a supermarket milk bottle, a soft drink bottle and a plastic bag isn't exactly exhaustive. But if they aren't all recyclable, surely it is now time to stop using these materials? Some supermarkets have biodegradable plastic bags. Some yoghurt manufacturers have pots you can dissemble so everything can be recycled in one way or another. The Glastonbury Festival this year even had biodegradable tent pegs! Actions like these surely need to become the norm.

Even the best performing councils in the country are still light-years behind some of their opposite numbers on the continent. But surely, SURELY it can't be too hard to make what we have work? Whilst the new recycling system should be welcomed, there are improvements which must be made for this to continue successfully. Not everything is within the control of our District Council '“ they don't control what goes into packaging for example, and this is definitely something which needs to be addressed on a national and international level. But if it makes the difference between people recycling and people chucking everything out to sit in a hole in the ground in Bulverhythe, I would argue that, while still explaining in leaflets and on websites what can and can't be recycled, the local recycling services should collect everything in the appropriate bins - if this means weeding out the occasional stray plastic bag, then so be it.

Please have a look at my website, www.jamesroyston.com, and do get in touch to let me know your views '“ [email protected].