Rubbish!!

Well, there was a lot on the news tonight that had my blogging fingers twitching.
First up, Rubbish, or the disposal of it.
The trouble is, in this country, maybe the world, we create too much waste.  Many local authorities have now gone to fortnightly rubbish collections.  When these are first introduced the local residents throw up their hands in despair sure that they will be over-run with rats and heaven knows what.  
The truth of the matter is that with one week collecting rubbish and the second week collecting recyclable stuff we do have weekly collections.
Once people get used to the new system they find that the rubbish bin is half empty even when it is only emptied fortnightly.  Larger families may have more difficulty, but in most places larger families can get larger wheelie bins.
So what are the complaints?  Usually that in the summer we will be plagued by flies and bad smells.  Do we need to give people lessons in disposing of their rubbish?  It is easy to prevent flies.  Flies come from maggots, maggots come from eggs that are lain by flies in any available flesh.  Make sure all rubbish is well wrapped before it is put in the bin so that the flies cannot get to it and then they can't lay eggs which will turn into maggots.  Is that so difficult?  It will also reduce smells.
The other big problem is disposable nappies.  These have become so easy to use that even people who try to use modern washable nappies sometimes revert to the quick and easy disposable nappy.  The trouble with these is that they are throw away, but they also last for ever.  However, for the sake of this blog discussion, it is the throwing away part that is the topic, not the fact that before much longer all our reclaimed land will be made up of disposable nappies.  The same thing applies as to other rubbish.  Wrap it well and securely and there will be no interest from flies and little smell.  Better still, get your child toilet trained and save yourself some money.
Toddlers seem to be in nappies much longer these days than they ever used to be.  They are so dry and comfortable, the babies hardly know they have done anything in them, which is wrong.  They need to feel the moisture when they pee, that way they are easier to train to go at set times and in set places.  Again, this is another argument which I won't get into here.  Of course, the nappy producers want to see 2 year olds running about and playing in nappies and disposable pants.  It makes them more money.  My child was clean and dry by the time she was 18 months old.  
Another complaint is the number of bins households are expected to use.  One for rubbish, one for garden waste and one for recyclables.  These bins are sturdy and all have lids.  They are relatively easy for most people to move.  What is the problem with sorting plastic bottles from kitchen scraps?  I admit that in some older areas there may be a problem with storing all these bins but they are far better than plastic bags left at the kerbside!
We all need to realize that the space for dumping our rubbish is running out.  We need to cut down on the amount we produce and we need to recycle as much as we can.  We can all do something about this.  When shopping, avoid things that are overly packaged, and if you cannot avoid buying something in a plastic box or cardboard carton, make sure you recycle or re-use the packaging.  It is not a simple life-style choice that can be ignored, it is an essential to maintaining the world around us.