A little trash talk is needed
I emailed the Westminister council about wanting to have access to a food waste recycling system almost a year ago. It seemed they had introduced the trial service during the autumn of 2019. After their successful trial, I managed to get my compost bin delivered a month ago.
I was excited to start recycling my food and reducing my greenhouse gas, methane production. Placing your food waste in a compost bin instead of your general house waste bin can create biogas, a renewable energy source used to generate electricity to power the national grid and heat homes. It also can be transformed into a bio-fertilizer, which can be used on farmland to grow more food. Incredible right?
What's the problem, you may ask? Firstly, there is no food waste collection right now. So, you have to find the closest food waste disposal to your house and then, drop it off yourself. Which I think can create a lot of hassle for most people. The closest food waste disposal to mine is 15 mins walking distance. I'm happy that Westminister council is taking necessary action about food waste recycling, but I believe they need to improve their system much more rapidly. This isn't a trash talk dedicated only to the Westminister council but to all councils in London.
Big cities create the majority of the pollution, and it's the mayor's, and councils' responsibility to reduce that pollution to the minimum. The citizens are ready to do their part if the government can provide the services needed. There is so much distrust of the government and its recycling/waste systems. Especially after the reports showed that they were sending over 60 percent of the plastic packaging waste abroad, while they were making us believe the waste was burned to generate green power for London homes. The government needs to work hard to gain our trust back.
Our waste has the most impact on our world. It might be challenging to change our behaviours when it comes to buying, but it is much easier to change our behaviour when it comes to throwing away. We suggest that the councils take matters more seriously and start making simple but important changes to their recycling and rubbish system. I'm sure the council taxpayers would love to see what happens to their rubbish after being loaded onto the trucks. Are we asking too much to witness the journey of our rubbish? Are we asking too much to want better rubbish and recycling systems?
Our guess is no, but we would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.