Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Bag Lads

Like I say, this morning's Breakfast was a rich seam.

So along with all the other vastly crucial environmental issues covered of late, our Declan does an expose of... plastic bags. There's a novelty.

I simply don't get it. And have still to find out just what amount of plastic the 290 a year 'we' 'use' actually amounts to as a block when compared to say, the half dozen Fairy Liquid bottles we get through each year. Or if it really matters vs., well, most other things, really.

Anyway, the target was online deliveries, and it was actually quite surprising that these bozos use plastic bags, and just how many they do use, with Declan's best buds ASDA swinging in at 50% above the rest (15 for a normal 3-bag shop).

What was not surprising was that, good golly, they are all 'looking at' new ways. Now, let's see, home delivery have been going on how long? And NOW they decide to get all proactive. Sad.

And then we get a two-for-one deal on spokespersons, with the classic retail clone of sharp-suit, shaved-head and monotone mantra from a couple of high-power (in their minds) 'executives'. I bet a brace of 318 Beemers were being waxed in the underground garage as we watched. And 'make some noise' parties to Ibiza with Linda in accounts getting finalised on the Bluetooth as they headed back to shopping-central.

Their families must be so proud. I'm sure they are worth every penny. As is my licence fee.

4 comments:

Dave said...

On the subject of plastics in general, I didn't realise just how little was actually recycled in the UK - only 7%!! That represents about 140,000 tons out of 2 million tons thrown out each year!

This article from the BBC News reckons that more than 90% of local authorities offer some sort of plastic bottles recycling facility - well ours doesn't, nor does it offer any form of kerbside collection for the same. We do have glass and newspaper collected kerbside but they keep changing the day and not bothering to tell anybody!

I can feel an 'Irate of Ashley' letter coming on!

Emma said...

Neither does ours, so I guess we, coincidentally, represent the 10%. Actually our kerbside doesn't, but there are skips around that do. Though the enviROI of folk driving their XC90s to pop two bottles of pop in a skip holding 98% fresh air, to be hauled by a 6 litre diesel truck to a China bound freighter seems... odd.

It is pretty woeful, especially when this seems to be the one thing every consumer wants to do... but often can't.

To be fair to the LAs (who ever thought I would be writing that?), beyond some issues of logistical costs that can legitimately be claimed to cause some budgetary issues with an electorate big on demands and low on actual commitment, there is also the enviROI. Often the act of recycling can use more energy and/or generate more CO2 (mostly in collection & delivery) than sticking 'em in an 'ole (though we do seem to have topped most off, so it's academic).

Hence reduction to what goes in the chain (accepting, as I do, that there is going to be a need (to prevent waste) and demand for (logistically and marketing-wise in any form of free, consumer/capitalist society) with such packaging is to be encouraged, along with ... reuse! I know a certain website that has been banging on about this for a while, with a mechanism to help, if asked nicely (and preferably with some of the dosh sloshing about on oh-so-effective awareness campaigns telling us that what we are allowed and encouraged to do on the one hand is, in fact, bad).

What is needed is a network of countrywide processing facilities to minimise the round trip from manufacture and remanufacture as recyclates. And I believe this needs centralised government involvement (and not, please god, another quango). Of the joined-up variety. I wonder how many plants could be bulit with the £5M just blown on pointing me to a website I can't use, to assess a footprint that means nothing to me, encouraging practices I act upon already, or cannot because there is no infrastucture to do so.

Sorry, Cross of Ross joins the fray!

Dave said...

Maybe there's a niche here for a new form of 'totting'?

I'm long enough in the tooth to remember the days of the "Rag 'n Bone" man and, yes, even some who actually used a horse and cart! (As did the 'night soil' man).
Perhaps we could develop on the concept and have a modern day version:- How about a "Plastics, Paper 'n Glass" man?

Doesn't really roll off the tongue that easily though!

Emma said...

To mis-paraphase Macmillan's famous quote, 'Logistics, dear Dave, logistics'.

It isn't done because it doesn't make anywhere near enough money to cover the costs and, as I mentioned before, may impact the planet more in the process of saving than it saves in the result.

For now.

I have a vision (yes, including Junkk.com being a paid part) of using the power of IT and the net to coordinate sufficient like-composition materials in a multi-ROI form (remember, in just one month at the Ideal Home I ended up with a bin full of blue plastic caps. Now, what if all the shows collected such things, and then a guy who made blue plastic stuff sent round a 3-tonner once a month to collect them?) on a viable local, regional and then national basis.