Dealing with waste in-house provides the UK opportunities to educate its citizens on proper sorting and waste disposal.
Before waste can be processed and turned into recycled goods, it must be recyclable and uncontaminated. To achieve the desired end-product, citizens need to know proper sorting and disposal techniques. This information can be provided via in-home pamphlets that emphasize the importance of cleaning waste items before recycling. The pamphlets should have labelled pictures illustrating common recyclable and non-recyclable items. This is to ensure that the process is as user-friendly as possible. A sophisticated recycling campaign would also put effort into tailoring literature to local demographics.
Incentivized Recycling
New programs are often met with opposition; it would be beneficial to incentivize recycling through bottle deposits. As a matter of fact, bottle deposit programs have the potential to increase recycling rates when paired with accessible and user-friendly recycling centres.
Government Supported Waste Collection and Recycling Centres
If citizens have made the effort in proper sorting and waste disposal of their recyclables properly, they onus is not on them to have to transport them to a recycling centre. A reliable and sophisticated waste collection service should be in place to promote long-term success. The idea is to make recycling as convenient as possible to encourage compliance.
Recycling centres need government support to operate at maximum capacity. Support in the form of financial investment and training insure there is appropriate knowledge and technology available to handle incoming waste. If local waste recycling centres are unable to handle waste-processing, a campaign to encourage in-house recycling is moot. Therefore it is also important to recognize the link between manufacturers, government/industry and people when it comes to recycling.
Environmental Responsibility
By shipping low-quality recyclables elsewhere, the UK is not taking responsibility for its waste and may be unknowingly contributing to ocean pollution. By dealing with waste in-house, the UK can follow its waste from cradle to grave. Being more involved in the process, from waste production to collection to recycling, makes the efforts more personal. Shipping waste elsewhere encourages an out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality.
With this more personal relationship in waste disposal and recycling, government officials may be more willing to negotiate bottle deposit programs with beverage companies. They would also invest more in promotional products for their citizens. In addition, this could lead to them producing more elaborate waste collection plans.
The UK only stands to gain. A push for in-house recycling and proper sorting and waste disposal has the potential to strengthen the local economy by providing more green jobs and putting more recycled goods into the marketplace.
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