Friday, January 23, 2009

Pick it up! or...

When I see rubbish lying on the beach, I'm in two minds whether to pick it up or not. Strange, being an "environmentally minded" person, but I guess the question is, where does the rubbish go once you do pick it up? Where is away?

When someone picks up rubbish from a beach or nature reserve they usually put it in the nearest bin. I doubt it is recycled from there, it is probably taken to landfill. Landfill is just another person/creature/insect's home.

For me the answer to plastic bottles lying on the beach surely doesn't lie with how we dispose or recycle the bottles, but rather with not using plastic bottles (and all the other -mainly plastic- junk that litters or environment) .

Buy one water bottle that is made from another material, or buy one that will last at least 10 years. Refuse to buy things in packaging the manufacturer will not take back, and where possible bring your own packaging. These are steps that are easy to take and will have the biggest influence.

As for the litter - leave it lying there as a reminder to others that there is no such place as "away", and precycling, not recycling is the only answer.

No comments: