It's been over two months since I last visited the recycling bins in Nowy Podolszyn, but then we've been away a lot. Still, time to time to clear out the garage and to address one's conscience to issues of Consumerism. Heaps and heaps of plastic in different colours, glass bottles (158 of them!), paper and cardboard - all needing to be sorted. And time to see just what exactly a Polish suburban middle class family spends its money on and how much waste it creates.In terms of plastics, mineral water bottles (1.5l) create most waste, along with yogurt cartons. Brands - Cisowianka is our preferred water, Zott's Yogobella, Smakija desserts, Grycan ice cream and Piątnica cottage cheese top the plastics, while in terms of glass Marwit's Owocudo smoothie bottles predominate along with Tarczyn orange juice and Pilsner Urquell empties.
All clean and sorted, we take them and place them in the right bins. We are doing Our Bit (we hope). But there are still reasons to express doubts about all this recycling stuff. I mean our parents never did any of this when we were small... But then things weren't as over-packaged as they are today.
Take a look at the Auchan hypermarket plastic bag (bottom right). You will not see its likes again. A few months ago, Auchan replaced branded bags with anonymous white ones, so that the retailer could avoid having ecological fingers pointed at it as a Polluter of the Landscape. A few weeks ago, the anonymous white bags were again replaced, this time by green, biodegradable ones, which (it says on them) will degrade totally in 24 months when in contact with the air.
Now, I'm a bit cynical here. The old ones, if recycled properly, could be turned into flowerpots or fleecy tops. Will the new "green ones"? I wouldn't want flowerpots or fleecy tops made of a material that will biodegrade in the atmosphere. Plus, the implication is, that if buried in landfill sites, they'll not biodegrade anyway as air doesn't get to them. So really, all the hypermarket is doing is avoiding the PR shame of having its branded bags hanging off trees and in bushes (in the UK these are known as "witches' knickers").
Green consumerism is in its infancy. We're getting fooled left right and centre and don't know it.
The biodegradable bags are a real question - what does it mean? If it means the plastic will just break down quicker, leech into the soil, then into the water, and then into the food chain, maybe that's not a good idea.
ReplyDeleteHere in Holland they have a deposit scheme for (some) glass, plastic water bottles (1.5 L only) and absolutely no metal or plastic recycling. Gah!
Green consumerism is in its infancy. We know we don't want the world to be spoilt on account of our greed, but don't yet quite know how to achieve that goal. Looks like Holland's way ahead of Poland. Bring on deposit schemes - cash incentives are the only surefire way of making it work.
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