How will glass be separated with Bexhill’s new recycling rules?

26/11/13- A green wheelie bin issued by Rother District Council for collecting garden refuse. SUS-151003-131721001

It’s a funny old world, isn’t it.

I refer, of course, to the article on page 2 of the edition of June 14 about recycling.

We (the ratepayers and paymasters of Rother District Council) are to be permitted to deposit glass into the green recycling bins on the grounds that the glass can be separated from the paper.

Has anyone in the area watched the recycling collections over the last two and a half years? A regular feature has been the collection operatives putting glass items into green wheelie bins, only to be hurled into the lorries to the merry tune of shattering glass.

If we – the ratepayers – had put the glass into the green bins, we would have been liable to prosecution; however, the operatives did it with impunity.

Twice I challenged the Customer Service staff with this practice – not surprisingly, receiving two different answers. One (slightly plausible) was that for a limited time in the instance of a defective bottle lift into the designated section of the lorry, it could be mixed with the paper. The other (less plausible, to my mind) is that it could all be sorted at the depot.

Have you ever tried to find those miniscule shards of glass after a breakage? Damn near impossible to find them – until you stand on them!

The third explanation from an operative was inevitable ‘Elf an’ safety’ – in case a wheelie bin fell off its hoist.

Well – there you are. On June 29 we are to be allowed to do an act for which, if committed on June 28, we could be prosecuted.

Incidentally, how does the new contractor intend to separate that nasty glass stuff deeply intermingled with the paper and cardboard?

Significantly, the melting point of glass is of the order of 1,723 degrees Centigrade; on the other hand, the combustion point of paper is about 233 degrees Centigrade.

Does it propose to separate them by fire, thus disposing of the carefully collected paper – or sift through by hand?

However it might be done, I sympathise in advance with those people who use toilet paper made from recycled paper for what might be a most unfortunate incident.