(Am I really doing this??? I am feeling brave, so yes.)
So I think we need to revisit the topic of bins and just want to check a few assumptions.
we have stopped using first mile and all rubbish and recycling is now going in the clear plastic bags and being collected by Quantum.
we are happy with this arrangement and want it to continue.
The only exception is bits of scrap wood, which are recycled within the woodshop until the wood bin is full and then get taken away by someone for fuel.
If those assumptions are all correct then based on my memory of initial conversations with Quantum, where they explained that they sort through all the contents of every bag and recycle as much as they possibly can, there are a few things we should ideally change in the way we collect rubbish in each room:
The kitchen needs one small / medium bin for food and compostable waste, and one big bin for everything else.
The woodshop needs updated signs on the bins - one bin has no bag and is for bits of wood, and one bin had a bag and is for everything else. Also needs a bigger, stronger, less bin-like bin for wood so people can clearly tell the difference?
the messy room needs a bin dedicated to each category of waste to make it easier for them to sort and recycle.
This is probably best discussed / finalised at the next meeting but I thought I would get the ball rolling and check my assumptions first.
One of the things that was appealing about Quantum was their willingness to take scrap wood and sawdust – very useful when our other outlets run dry.
My instinct is to keep separating recycling as best we can – and it’s always been a bit erratic – that way we’re freer to change contractor in future. It’s not been plain sailing with Quantum, but then it took quite a while for things to settle down with First Mile initially.
At the moment Quantum are proving more expensive than First Mile. So I’m doing some negotiation around that.
A useful reminder: we pay a price per bag collected. In theory up to 10kg per bag. So quarter-filled lightweight bags are punishingly expensive for us to dispose of.
I did look at trying to update the posters now we are on quantum but I can’t figure out the details necessary, like who to talk to about it, when the collections are and what is actually allowed in mixed recycling.
Should we have a quick meeting with Xavier to check? My understanding is that everything except food is recycled wherever possible, including a lot of the stuff councils can’t recycle, so it’s more helpful if we separate food from everything else instead of trying to figure out what is and isn’t recycling. Then we would put food waste into small bags tied shut inside the big bags, everything else stays clean and can be recycled and the food waste gets composted.
Please can commutations be routed through me as the primary contact. It may souy ungrateful but when multiple members contact our suppliers it often causes confusion, and some time overhead to smooth out that confusion.
Yes of course. If you or he could give us some more detail about how to optimise what we’re doing with rubbish that would be great because I don’t think we’re doing what Xavier suggested we should be doing when he first came in to talk to us about his service, and at the moment it’s quite confusing and I don’t think the kitchen bins make any sense.
Because they have a policy of recycling as much as possible they don’t give a guide as to what goes in recycling. So for that reason I think we carry on as is. If everything goes in together then it seems likely that we’ll contaminate washed recycling with all sorts of other waste and making debris.
What do you think needs improving with the kitchen bins? I agree about having a small food bin, maybe on the counter. Especially if someone is prepared to take the compostable stuff away.
If we had a small food bin on the counter, then couldn’t everything else in the kitchen go in one big bin together, with plastic bottles and any boxes squashed down first so we’re not just filling it up with air?
That’s the kind of thing it would be good to know for sure. And then maybe the big bin we use for kitchen recycling now could go in the woodwork room for wood, because the two small bins in there now look too similar and everything gets put in both of them, and one of them is falling apart and won’t tast much longer.
I also personally don’t like having an open top recycling bin in the kitchen, I think it looks horrible.
Jose often doesn’t seem very happy with what’s out for him to collect, so it might be worth having them both to talk to at the same time so we can make sure what we’re doing makes sense.
That should be written on bins in space, and maybe in top of the wheelie bins. Presumably we can double bag if necessary, as the bags are no longer pre-paid?
Ditto - maybe we need a scale? New-member project to make something fun for this purpose?
I believe all wood waste also goes out for quantum, unless someone rescues scrap that they want? I took the black wheelie bin out of the workshop as it was so big that it got in the way and rarely got emptied. I prefer bins to have bags in them so they are quicker to empty.
