How the Swedish greenies do it

[Klem]

Found my way to an interesting bit on Sweden and recycling today.

It was all about how they've approached recycling and how they're recycling 50% of their waste into new things and the other 50% is burned.

Of the energy in the half burned 30% of it is turned into electricity and the rest is used to heat water. They say they get a bout 95% of the potential energy out of it.

97.5% reclaimed from recycling. Not bad. So good in fact they have to import rubbish from Norway now.

So that's what they've done.

So Australian greens. What have you done lately? All that comes to mind is telling people not to buy their kids barbie dolls because it's stereotyping and complaining about culling animals which are staving to death or destroying the natives.

Feel like you accomplished anything? Feel good about yourself?

[anthillinside]

Greens feeling good about themselves ... yep allways do... no matter what.... they are the savior of our world.
And live in un sustanable city appartment blocks sucking up energy like theres no tomorrow.
You just have to admit.. their right ....even when their wrong.
There is absoulutly no point in trying to debate with them
Seen Steve Lee in Living with the Enemey? They prove the point all by themselves, Steve didn't even have to try to show them up.

I think I'm going to join PETA.
People Eating Tasty Animals.
Has ayone got a good acronim for the G.R.E.E.N.S ?

[handofcod]

Nothing to do with greenies really at all. Just a government who has taken steps to change the way they deal with waste and energy. It's not about hugging trees or protecting animals, just sustainability.

[brett1868]

I lived in Sweden between 95' & 99' and recycling wasn't something that had to be thought of as you just did it. You'd pack up all your recyclables, head down to the supermarket where you fed the materiel's into an assortment of machines and you then got a voucher. Walk inside and use the voucher towards your shopping to cut costs. With the price of food there in the 90's everyone tried to recycle as much as possible to reduce their food bills. Worked very well and continues to work to this day.
It's a brilliant approach the Swedes have, trucks bring the bulk groceries, you buy it, take home, bring container back for $, then container goes back to manufacturer on a delivery truck. The truck has a load in both directions making the whole process extremely efficient and environmentally friendly.

[1290]

Found my way to an interesting bit on Sweden and recycling today....

translation:

Saw a link to something SWEDISH something and thought , ok, hot blonde chicks

This is not environmentalism or being green/greenie, its about being generally responsible, particularly economically responsible, we as Aussie mostly forget about the rubbish once its wheeled to the kerb. some of us 'feel warm and fuzzy'because we've been separating the bottles, tins and cardboard from the general rubbish for years.... do we know how much of that goes to land-fill?? Dont ask dont tell.....

we can use the rubbish to fuel electricity generation.... What would we do with all that coal just sitting there doing nothing useful in the ground? and what would we, sorry, China Light and Power Co and Suez(of France and a certain canal fame, do with all that excess coal and power??

Environmentalism is about restricting human activity, obstructing legitimate industries and passtimes and generally what resembles a faster paced 'creeping socialism'.....

[on_one_wheel]

In SA we recycle heaps, rubbish bins here are very small and get emptied weekly, the recycling bin is a full size wheely bin and is collected fortnightly, so we are forced to recycled to some point as the non recycling bin wont take the lot.

Generally my recycling bin is totally full, and once a year my trip to the dump is paid for by depositing my 10 cent cans, and scrapping some heavy steel., gives me a warm fuzzy feeling but goes against everything I stand for working in the mining industry... the mining industry needs demand for minerals not warm fuzzy recycling.

[anthillinside]

Don't know about Sweden but it seems here it's been all stick and no carrot.
We start out being told we're slack, wrong, incapable or generally useless so they start charging more for waste removal introduce legislation fines etc.
I remember before council recycling, we recycled paper, glass and cans. There were no recycling stations we travelled miles to one place for paper more miles for glass and even more for cans etc.
When council started doing it we had separate paper, glass/cans and green waste.
They then said it was costing too much to collect and keep separate the paper and glass so they combined them, now they complain about contamination between paper, glass and cans so they scrap full recycle trucks to landfill.
Now they are going to put cameras on the trucks to identify what you put in them and are defining a more restrictive list of allowable crap and will fine you if they can.
Try to buy product that is made from recycled product and generally you pay for the dearly privilege.

What a great way to encourage people to recycle

[Bourt]

Sweden just went up a bunch of notches in my book

[Hucka]

Saw a link to something SWEDISH something and thought , ok, hot blonde chicks

You mean the entire population of Sweden isn't beer serving maidens? Nooooooooo!