If you didn't *have* to, would you still recycle your rubbish?

[JoySzasz]

I live in the US,in my small town it is not (as yet) the law to recycle anything!

I used to be very organized,all our 'trash' was correctly placed in the correct recycling bin.

Now I don't life has got way too hectic,and I noticed that all of my paper and plastic would end up strewn all over the lawn.

I opted to just do glass.

From friends and family back in the UK,I have learnt that there is no option -one must. Many of them hate all the various different bins etc...and have confessed they wouldn't bother if it was not the law.

So,if you didn't have to ...would you still bother?

Honestly ...?

Its a PITA but I still would. We used to even when it was optional.

Yes.

It's not that much of a problem.

I don't have to - I have always done it, where facilities are available.
I know some people think it's a ball-ache and hate doing it, but it makes me itch to have to put recyclable stuff into the normal rubbish.

Yeah I wold but probably not as much.

My kitchen is tiny and it's a PITA having to squeeze 2 bins in there.

Yes of course.

it's not obligatory here (UK)

we have various collections - paper/card, glass, batteries, garden waste etc.

the only one that is probably policed is the garen waste one. the rest - it could all get lobbed into the wheelie bin, afaik.

we do separate out, because it is not much hassle. and our bin men are very nice and don't mind if we use an extra box for paper, or it is overflowign etc.

our last area - the binmen were not helpful, and woudl n ot tak paper waste away if too wet, or if the box was overfull etc - now THAT was a hassle.

And I think you're getting a slightly exaggerated picture. It is not compulsory where I live. It's a choice, and one I make very willingly.

As long as it is easy I would do it even if I didn't have to. But I do a lot more now that I have separate bins than I did when I had to separate and store stuff and take it to a recycling centre myself. I always took glass bottles to recycle, but that was about all. But my area has a fairly simple system - 3 wheely bins, all collected on the same day of the week (though on a rota) - which I think is simpler than what many people are having to do.

Yes I would

Its not hard to chuck the plastic and wine glass boxes in the recycling box

Oh and it's not compulsory - nobody checks what you put in the grey bin. But since it's only collected every fortnight, it makes sense not to fill it with recyclable stuff as it will fill too fast.

bottles* not boxes

We don't have to, there are no penalties or anything if you don't but it is very easy to do. So, yes we do and therefore would.

I always have.

My grandmother did not get a bin collection till the late 1980's - before that it was reduce, reuse, recycle, compost or burn for everything.
A sound approach.

New York State took a step backwards when they brought bins to her area.

Yes I would.

I would everthing but the food waste. I dont like doing that. We compost the compostable stuff because my mum has an allotment but the other food waste goes in a bin at the front that gets collected once every two weeks. It's grim.

Its not the law here is it?

I'd still do it - though have to confess that we have one bin for paper, glass and cans which makes it very easy.

I've always recycled, even before we had household collections.
So yes, and it isn't against the law not to.
I like the fact that in the 70s I was seen as weird eco-hippy for doing it, and now the general consensus is that you should all try.

Oh it's pretty much compulsory, Joy. I mean, they don't punish you if you don't, but they change the collection from weekly to alternate weekly, with the recycling collection on the other weeks, and they then breezily tell you they're providing you with a new bin for general rubbish, and it turns out to be smaller than the one you had. And they make it clear they won't collect any rubbish which doesn't fit in the bin.

So yeah, you sort of have to.

I guess I still would, but not as much as I do currently.

We get round the "two bins" thing by having a small kitchen rubbish bin, which gets hardly anything put in it (basically just cat food pouches!), a box on top of the fridge that takes the recyclables (luckily round here, you can put all the recyclables in the same bin), which is emptied almost every day (the bin is right outside the kitchen door - outside the house!), and a compost bin - again small and is emptied every couple of days.

OP I'm trying to picture how you end up with paper and pastic strewn all over your lawn. I can't imagine that's a common sight in the USA.

Recycling is not compulsory where I live. Yet 90% of our residents choose to do it.

I guess you are fortunately in a minority. Anyway, I'd better let you get on as you probably have more crap to look at deal with on your lawn.

I don't care abotu food waste at all - obviously, you can't compost meat waste, but the rest can be shovelled into the compost "caddy" bin and then dumped straight into the garden compost bin.

Our council uses the "carrot" approach and has made recycling easier by giving us a single large bin for all recycling, which gets taken to a big processing centre to sort it. We then have a smaller bin for non-recyclable rubbish, which gets collected every week.

We do not have mandatory recycling, but we do it. I live in an apartment building, with wheelie bins for clear glass, coloured glass, paper, tins, plastics and cardboard. It is picked up 2 or 3 times per week.
For households, it all goes in the same blue box, which is picked up on garbage day, once/ week.
Garden waste can be picked up if it is in compostable bags, but I don't think there is a collection of food waste. Most people have a composter in their yards, or it gets put with garbage.
I don't think I know anyone who doesn't recycle.