Brustibin’s Debut at the 2017 Ploughing Championships

Brustibin attended its first ever Ploughing Championships this year, and as can be seen was in serious training before the event!

Organisers, exhibitors and attendees alike, agreed that while it was a wash out on Day 2, Days 1 & 3 were overwhelming successes.

The Brustibin marquee was the focus of much attention with visitors attracted by the banner which rightly claimed that Brustibin is  “The Kitchen Bin that Saves You Hassle”. Some interesting feedback was received from visitors in relation to waste collections in their areas, and it was surprising to hear from the a large contingent who said that they did not have a brown bin, nor had they been offered one. It was also interesting to learn that they had not had any commincations either from the Local Authorities, the Waste Enforcement Regulatory Authorities or their Waste Service Providers, informing them that it is now mandatory to have a Brown Bin for Biowaste or Food Waste.

It was however very uplifting to hear the majority of visitors to the stand stating that they wanted to do the right thing in relation to waste segregation. However they felt that their efforts are in vain due to the lack of encouragement and  enforcement by the powers that be and the waste collectors.

The lack of public awareness and education on waste segregation was unfortunately very evident. And it was disheartening to find that the Brustibin stand was the only source of information that a large number of attendees had ever received on waste segregation and recycling.

The attendess also shared with us on the day some of the activities which their waste service providers are practicing and which should be of concern to the Regulatory Authorites. But  enough about that until another day.

Well done to Anna May and the NPA, and hopefully the gods will smile more kindly with the weather next year. In the meantime to all of those who we met at the Brutibin marque, we thank you for visiting us, and we hope that we have helped you to better understand waste segregation and recycling. A task which we had been led to believe was being looked after by the Department, the Local Authorities et. al !

 

No New Flat Rate Waste Contracts from September 1st!

From September 1st Waste Service Providers will no longer be able to offer customers a Flat Rate Contract for the collection of their waste. They may instead offer the householder four different options.

Option one will be based on a charge per kilo. Option two will be based on a charge per kilo plus a charge per lift.  Option three will be based on weight bands set by the service provider, while option four will offer a weight allowance above which a cost per kilo will apply. All options will also include a Service Charge regardless of the amount of waste collected.

Sounds complicated, and yes it will be if all options are offered by all waste collectors. This I believe will not be the case. Also to be considered will be the price per kilo, per lift or band for each waste type collected. As the objective of the new pricing structure is to incentivise householders to segregate their waste correctly, significant differences in the price per kilo or band or lift for recyclables, food waste and residual waste can be expected. Waste segregation at source, that is in the kitchen,  is a necessity for long term environmental sustainability.

And the introduction of complicated pricing structures may heighten householders awareness that unsegregated waste is of little or no value. Segregated waste on the other hand has value, is reusable and does not necessitate the production of more materials, whose production itself will waste more valuable and diminishing resources.

It makes sense, it always has… however it would appear many householders require financial disincentives or penalties to see it!

“Back to Basics” Food Waste Prevention Campaign

Food waste is a serious issue here in Ireland, so much so that it is estimated that Irish households throw away one third of the food they purchase every week. This equates to the average Irish family wasting €50 per month on unused food. Minister Naughten recently estimated that globaly approximately $1 trillion of food was wasted every year, while one billion people go under nourished and another one billion go hungry.

Food waste is therefore not just an environmental issue, where vast amounts of energy are consumed in its production, but also a moral issue, and Irsh consumers are beginning to respond.

This is evidenced by the proliferation of Brown wheelie bins outside homes and it is now mandatory that all householders in population areas of greater than 500 people must have a Brown bin supplied by their waste service provider. Waste service providers are also encouraging the use of the Brown bin by refusing to collect recycling bins and genral waste bins that contain food waste.

Some householders may consider segregating food waste a chore, however if properly done it can become a rewarding and hassle free experience. Keeping the containers for the different wastes in the one kitchen location is a requisite for hassle free segregation, where one can instantly sort out the diffrent waste types at source.

This is where Brustibin is ideal in that once you open its lid you are presented with three options as to where you want to place a waste item, that is in the food waste bin, the recyling bin or the black waste bin. No searching for the proper bin, all options are there in front of you. Hassle free waste segregation and recycling…helping to reduce food waste and do the right thing, while also saving euro’s. It really is that easy!

It’s a Small World….Contaminationally Speaking

China, the world’s largest importer of waste has initiated Operation Green Fence and the National Sword 2017 initiative in a bid to prevent contaminated waste from entering the country. China’s requirement for imported waste is reducing and they require that any waste they import will be of an acceptable standard and not contaminated. The National Sword initiative is aimed at preventing waste from being smuggled into the country while Operation Green Fence involves Custom Official inspecting bales of paper and plastic waste entering China. ”

So what has this got to do with me?”, one might well ask. Unfortunately when the world’s biggest importer of waste starts reduces their intake and start doing quality checks it means that there is no home for any waste which is contaminated. The downstream effect is that contaminated waste is becoming a “no no” and waste service providers are telling their customers that they will not and cannot on enviromental and ecconomic grounds accept contaminated household waste. If they do so that it will cost! This was clearly evidenced recently in a message from Gene Browne, CEO of Citybin to their household customers asking them for help in reducing contmination levels.

Gene informed customers that a contaminated household bin can contaminate an entire truck load of recyclables, and could result is higher waste charges to the customer. As a result he is asking householders  ” to be extra vigilant and ensure that only the appropriate waste goes into the green or brown bin” He provides a  handy online guide to what can go in your bin, and asks ” everyone to have a look as it may help prevent further contamination and avoid any contamination charges”

We naturally 100{b050ebef00e2b6e935b95b021e9f55f4ab20ffeed47f29e2aa25a2081fec5bc8} concur with Gene of Citybin, and his fellow conscientious waste service providers and we here at Brustibin are encouraging everyone to segregate their waste properly. And as we all know the best place to do this is at source, in the kitchen, with a Brustibin!

 

Eyes in the Sky….Waste Monitoring and Enforcement

contamination waste food bin

Eyes in the Skies

Mnister Naughten recently unveiled that Local Authorities and other State Agencies will be employing Drones to monitor waste disposal and bring enforcement proceedings against illegal dumpers. This is indeed welcome news, however a bit like any policing activity, feet on the ground are also required, and unfortunately the Minister has not addressed this issue.  Currently

Waste Conamination Food Bin

Minister Naughten

enforcement of household waste seems to have been landed with the Waste Service Providers, who as we see, are checking bins before and after they are collected. Drone technology is excellent, but will it really work when a householder deliberately puts grey waste e.g nappies into their green or brown bin. The answer is simply no. However what drones may well be excellent for is scanning areas on collection days to discover what householders are not putting out brown bins or indeed grey bins allowing Local Authorities to quickly pin point what households are or are not putting out waste types. This technology will also be excellent for monitoring larger MUD complexes to see what bins are actually present, as many large MUD’s do not have brown bins. The Minister has provided funding to Local Authority for the purcahse of Drones and the idea has gained traction. At last month’s meeting of the Dublin South Central Area committee, Councillor Michael Mullooly of Fianna Fail put forward a motion calling on the council’s area manager to consider using drones “to protect and provide evidence of fly-tipping and dumping of waste”.

And while there were concerns raised re the invasion of privacy with drones potentially hovering over householders back gardens, the motion was passed. So next time you are putting that black bag of grey waste into the green or brown bin, remember someone may be “looking at you”!

 

It’s Not that Difficult…Really. Contaminated or Segregated??

Wheelie Bin Inspectors at Work

Following on from last month’s post on contaminated waste, it is great to see Waste Service Providers upping the ante in realtion to the proper segregation of waste. Recent radio interviews with Des Crinion of Panda   and Cosmin Gliga of City Bin  informed  householders of the impact that non segreagted waste is having. Unsegregated waste contaminates perfectly good recyclable waste. It also creates unecessary grief for the waste companies including binmen and those working in waste segregation facilities. It also impacts on the cost of waste collection. And while those households not segregating waste correctly are in the minority, their actions can impact on the bin charges for all householders. It is therefore imperative that householders segregate correctly at source.

What Waste Providers are Doing

Photograph of Wheelie Bin being Emptied

Unfortunately some householders refuse to do the right thing. This is forcing some waste service providers to introduce quality checks of the householder’s bins. Others are putting  cameras in their trucks that photograph each wheelie bin as it is being emptied.

In Truck monitoring of Waste in Wheelie Bin

Contaminated Waste

Bin Scanning

Others are placing controls in the cab that allow drivers to refuse to lift contaminated bins. And as all bin trucks now have the capability to scan every wheelie bin it lifts , the tracing of contaminated waste back to an individual householder is now an exact science. A welcome development in everyone’s book, one would imagine…except naturally for the non compliant. The proper segregation of  household waste at source, that is in the kitchen,  is not really difficult…particularly if you have a Brustibin to help!

Waste Contamination……. Service Providers Lead the Way.

Contamination

Providers Say Stop to Waste Contamination

Contamination

Contaminated Waste No Thanks

The proper segregation of domestic waste by householders has been a topical issue since the introduction of the Brown Bin under the Household Food Waste Regulations in 2013. Since then, there has been significant improvement in waste segregation at source. However some householders continue to mix residual/ black waste , food waste and recyclables, leading to the contamination of vast quantities of otherwise reusable waste. This was evidenced by the recent stopping of 160 containers of  Irish recyclables in Rotherdam, by European Authorities.  It is illegal to mix waste types. However as can be evidenced countrywide, particularly in the case of  MUD’s such as apartment blocks and student accommodations, the legislation is being blantantly flouted in full public view. And no brown bin is to been seen in a large number of these complexes.

Contamination waste

Mixed Waste..No Collectiom

Local authorities are turning a blind eye to this activitiy, with many of their own  developments not being compliant with legislation.  Similarly many MUD Management Companies are  allowing waste types to be mixed in their developments. This begs the question :-  who is going to stop this illegal activity, which is creating headaches for waste service providers and causing untold environmental damage and waste. The answer surprisingly is the waste industry itself.They have taken upon themselves the mantle of promoting and encouraging compliance with legislation while those mandated to do so look the other way.   Providers such as Panda, Greyhound, Allied Recycling and CityBin are actively promoting the responsible segregation of waste with the use of news items, flyers, bin stickers etc. Well done to you all and let’s hope a bit more proactivity will be forthcoming from the powers that be….

 

 

Litter Litter Everywhere.. costing Dublin City Council €650,000 per annum

A recent survey of 40 Irish cities, towns and urban areas  found that 70{b050ebef00e2b6e935b95b021e9f55f4ab20ffeed47f29e2aa25a2081fec5bc8} of the  towns, cities and urban areas surveyed were found to be “clean to European norms” in 2016. The survey was conducted by An Taisce on behalf of the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL)  This was an improvement on the results of a 2015 survey but was disappointingly less that the 85{b050ebef00e2b6e935b95b021e9f55f4ab20ffeed47f29e2aa25a2081fec5bc8} found in 2014. The report was particularly damming of Dublin. It said  that there was  a “disappointing deterioration” in the cleanliness of the capital, with a high number of blackspots in Dublin’s north inner city. These areas  included the North Inner City and Ballymun. And the report described Balbutcher Lane as being “characterised by dumping”.  Both Dublin city centre and Limerick city slipped to join Galway city as “moderately littered”.  Conor Horgan of the IBAL stated that “the poor showing by our cities generally goes some way to explaining the overall increase in litter levels. Last year all our major cities other than Dublin were clean; this time round the majority are littered.” Galvone in Limerick City, Farranree in Cork City and Dublin Noth Inner City were the most littered areas in Ireland being described as “seriously littered”. Meanwhile Letterkenny, Ballymun and Mahon in Cork City were described as “littered” . It is however not suprising that such activity continues when in Dublin City alone, last year two thirds of illegal dumping fines are not paid.  This is in spite of the fact that it cost €650,000 to collect this illegally dumped litter. It is estimated that nearly  one million euo per annum would be saved by Dublin City Council if proper enforcement and prosecution were in place for littering offences.

While Kildare Cleans Up

Meanwhile the accolade for the cleanest town goes to Kildare, followed by Roscommon, Ashbourne and Waterford, with all being described as “Cleaner than European Norms”. Maybe this explains where the Kildare nickname “lilywhites” originated and why on this ocassion they are truly champions.

What our UK Customers are Saying..

As we continue debating about how we should pay starfor our waste, here are some of the comments of our UK customers on Brustibin (the ultimate hassle free waste segregation solution) , who believe in waste segregation even though there is no direct financial gain for themselves ..
It seems like they believe that it is the right thing to do..

 

Customer Reviews as reported on amazon.co.uk

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars
By christine etheridge on 29 Jun. 2016
Colour: Blue Verified Purchase
“Very pleased indeed, sturdy, nice and compact and does the job.”
 
4.0 out of 5 starsRecycling value.
By Mrs. Sheila Thomas  on 20 Oct. 2016
Colour: Red Verified Purchase
“Good value for money and just about meets my needs. The small compartments are quite small for recycling materials but is still very useful.”
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars
By Rarebit on 4 Oct. 2016
Colour: Ivory Verified Purchase
“Fantastic product, great size, ideal for recycling and brilliant price.”
 5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars
By Rainman7 on 2 Dec. 2016
Colour: Red Verified Purchase
“works great”

Sweden to Recycle the “Cycle”

Swedes to recycle the cycle…the Swedish government is proposing to introduce tax breaks on repairs of everything from bicycles to washing machines. It is encouraging people not to throw out old or broken items, but rather repair them and not buy new ones.bicycleThe initiative would slash the VAT rate on repairs to bicycles, clothes and shoes from 25{b050ebef00e2b6e935b95b021e9f55f4ab20ffeed47f29e2aa25a2081fec5bc8} to 12{b050ebef00e2b6e935b95b021e9f55f4ab20ffeed47f29e2aa25a2081fec5bc8}. It would also allow people to claim back half of the labour cost on repairs to appliances such as fridges, ovens, dishwashers and washing machines. The government is also planning on introducing a new “chemicals tax” on white goods and computers, which is designed to recoup costs for items that are difficult to recycle.

Sweden’s minister for financial markets and consumer affair, Per Bolund, hopes that the tax break on appliances will spur the creation of a new home-repairs service industry and reduce the carbon emissions tied to goods which are imported. He also said that the policy was in line with international trends to reduce consumption and that items need to be made to last longer so as to reduce the consumption of raw materialswashing-machines-afp

The proposals will be presented in parliament as part of the government’s budget proposals and if voted through in December will become law from 1 January 2017.

The battle between Consumerism and  Recycling

Innitiatives such as this must be welcomed and embraced as they highlight the value that exists in many products that are discarded and dumped, such as that iPhone4, that cd player, that 40″ non LED flat screen tv, that food mixer was was the wrong colour,  that vacuum cleaner that had a bag, that laptop that had a minor crack in its screen and that bicycle which weighed more than 10 kilos. By and large the objectives of recycling and consumerism are totally at variance with one another, so before you decide to purchase the newest and latest gismo, pause awhile and ask…. do I need it, is the old one broken, can the old one be repaired, can some one else use it, can I recycle it….but whatever you decide please do not just chuck it in the bin!