Is household recycling a scam?

According to Penn and Teller.
Yes, it's bull****.

a reply to: nonspecific

Your experience proves it is.

Remember when they had those environmental 'discussion' programs on TV. In everyone of those programs there was always someone saying " we can all do something at the personal level, in our home. they went on, we all as individuals can make a contribution and make a difference etc etc.'

Well; now you know their role was to turn the public's concern about the environment back onto the individual, back on to the householder, back onto the public. Does the saying 'you want it done you do it and you pay for it'. ring a bell?

Notice how they don't have these environmental 'discussion' shows on TV now. They have served their purpose.

We've had one put over us again by TPTB with their secret agenda's, long range planning and careful patient implementation.

Interesting, I had the same conversation last week with my father-in-law. We (Ireland) have had separation of waste for well over 10 years. We have the 3 bin system, brown for kitchen/garden waste; green for paper/plastic/metal; and black for non-recyclables. Initially, I think it was free with the local council covering the cost as part of its service. Then, we paid with a ticket system, where you buy 'bin tags' at the local shop and attach them to the bin.

The waste collections were all privatised a few years back, so we all now pay for recycling. The cheapest I could find in my area works out at €20.33 per month or just over €240 ($300) per year. Feels like a lot to pay considering we do all the separating and washing out of plastic/aluminium. I'm assuming the waste company then sells on the recyclables. Someone is making money from it but it's definitely not me!

Our garden/kitchen waste originally went to a local composting facility, and we could go there and collect big sacks full of great compost for the garden, but since the council no longer operate the waste collections, we don't have that option anymore.

So now that it's privatised you have had a tax redduction to allow for the fact that the local council no longer deals with your waste right?

It goes a little deeper here as well.

until a few years ago any scrap metal you had could put in the garden and local small time scrap men would come round and collect it for free and weigh it in as a business.

This has now been made illigal unless you contact the scrap man and ask him to come round to collect it, he then has to give you recipt for the item.

These scrap metal men are also hounded by the local council with increased license fees and regular checkups with pointless fines forcing many of them to stop collecting altogether.

It's not a problem though because the very same council will gladly come and collect thses valuable resources for only £30!

a reply to: boozymadeira

a reply to: nonspecific

Not a chance. A new household tax was introduced as well. We now pay LPT (Local Property Tax) on our homes. Anything from around €100 per year up to €1700, but the average is around €300. This tax is supposed to pay for council run facilities and services but doesn't. Our government are currently trying to bring in a Water Tax as well. We currently pay for water through our Motor Tax (average of €390 per year for a small car), but will continue to pay both if/when the new tax comes in (again, the average for water tax is estimated at €238 per year).

I was not expecting you to say yes to that!

How on earth did they end up combining Car tax and water tax?

a reply to: boozymadeira

a reply to: nonspecific

Back in the 90s we paid a separate water tax and motor tax. Water rates were abolished in the middle of the 90s, and the Government hugely increase motor tax to make up for the shortfall in water rates.
The current attempt at re-introducing a separate water tax is being led by Europe and the IMF, resulting in mass protests mainly due to the setting up of a semi-state body, Irish Water, and how much it is costing the country.

I find the asshat way our garbage works outrageous as well. If something could be done right, in a way that doesnt harm people, makes sense, that is the way it's NEVER done, but instead these high salaried, given pensions and terrific dental folk, go out of their way to do it in the most punitive method that causes harm to all people.

We have garbage once a week and have to pay for yellow tags for anything that doesnt fit in the big can. I don't believe in targetting bigger families, for percentage wise, they're poorer than smaller ones. We are mixed household, including having a border.

The recycles are twice a month as well. In a small house like ours, that means you keep this huge bag under your table, because the kitchen's small, and it spills constantly with the cats, and basically your kitchen becomes becomes a recycle factory instead a nice little kitchen. Thank Goodness we have a single garage to store the garbage and recycles in, but if you forget on Friday to get it out, it means your garage is a stinky mess.

And you can't store them outside there are bears and coyotes. No Go!

Solution. Garbage pickup is free. You have bins located in many spots in neighborhoods and daily you put the garbage in the garbage bins and you put the recycles in the recyle bins. No specific days.

Homes are neat. Wild life stays away. Your house isn't destroyed but becomes a home again, and your garage doesnt smell like crap.

These asshats who make these decisions are paid incredibly wonderful salaries to do the RIGHT THING BY ALL PEOPLE, not to screw them over and laugh about it, thinking I was hired to be a demon. Its a great job, my resume is roasting little babies and causing as much suffering as I can get away with.

It really really upsets me.

They are creating giant IOU's, everytime they take a simple recipe, ie earth and resources (the ingredients) and instead of turning out good solutions that make people happy, HARM THEM. They don't get it, THEY OWE YOU. IOU! And we collect while they get thrown in the giant timeout at the end.

This is but one example of how they harm, they harm in real ways, not just your home and property with garbage, but homeless, poverty, rents, GMO, numerous corruptions and are the destroyers of planets.

Why anyone elects these people instead of their own families is beyond me.

a reply to: nonspecific


I swear there's a *jobs worth* in the deep dark recesses of every government.
Who's sole responsibility is finding out how to squeeze more out of every
citizen.

Firstly the rubbish collections were included in the 'council tax' bill ... then
they put a charge on the garden bin, admittedly not a huge sum (£20 for the
six months and only 12 collections) but that's the first slippery step .... how
long before it becomes £20 per bin and then gradually increasing due
to inflation etc. This attitude is just encouraging 'fly tipping' which in the long
run will prove more expensive

I live in a village that was for many years a winner in the 'Britain in Bloom'
awards. Over the last eight years all flower beds have been eroded, till last
year when the people themselves made collections and themselves planted
out and looked after the blooms. (Yet another cost that was included in the
council tax bill)and now costing the people) and I cant see the council
picking up the tab for that anytime soon ....

Then we have potholes once upon a time every driver paid 'road tax'
and that 'apparently' was for maintaining roads. It is no longer called
'road tax' it has gradually morphed into 'vehicle excise duty' and now there
is talk of 'road tolls' so more money from the motorists pockets?

Speed Cameras initially introduced for accident prevention, now
they appear quite regularly in safe areas that have never had an
accident and catch motorists barely over the limit ..... suspiciously
like filling empty coffers .... when the car parks behind the shopping
area are plagued by vandals damaging cars just for the hell of it!

Water rates which I have always paid quarterly have increased
disproportionately, however inspite of constant harassment to go onto
a metre and I am informed it will be to my advantage, I am happy to
stay as I am, every one I know who has been seduced into having a
metre is paranoid about running water and taking too many baths, LOL!

So do you plan to stand up to this or simply bow down to the situation as you are expected to do?

Genuine question I must add and not an insult.

At what point do we say NO?


a reply to: eletheia

originally posted by: nonspecific
I tell you It's a conspiracy...

Yep, I think you're right...

I would agree but could you elaborate on your post please?


Anyone could google a screenshot but this would require more please?

a reply to: Murgatroid

originally posted by: nonspecific
So do you plan to stand up to this or simply bow down to the situation as you are expected to do?
Genuine question I must add and not an insult.
At what point do we say NO?
a reply to: eletheia

I do in what ever way I can but I am a small voice in the community.

The £20 is new to my area and I am not paying .... the rubbish

I am not supposed to put in will go in in carrier/bin bags into the two which

are still being collected as of in with the council tax.


I have asked a couple of neighbours if they will be paying, and yes they

are, I informed them they were 'mad' as this was a slippery slope and

the money grabbing would be extended and if more people refused they

would be forced to rethink their policies .... The collection wagons are

going to go into streets and cul de sac's and only collect from some bins?

hardly a cost effective exercise?


For what its worth I am constantly on to the various dept,'s when I have

a legitimate complaint.


And as to my previous post I have not and will not donate money or time to

the floral displays in the village.


Many years ago when making payments to the council for the tax, the account

they provided gave a monthly amount for the year and said they were

giving you two FREE months, which neighbours paid and often referred

to having two free months. I however divided the total by twelve and paid

on the resulting amount. For this I constantly received notices for being

behind in my account, to which I would reply that by the end of the year the

total bill would be paid, and that as I was paid in twelve monthly instalments

that is how my mortgage and bills would be paid .... I don't think it was any

thing to do with me but two or three years later they changed the system to

12 monthly payments.