The Waste Problem

What’s in the average rubbish bin?

Householders in Argyll & Bute produce about 50,000 tonnes of rubbish every year. Over 44,000 tonnes end up in landfill sites. Argyll & Bute Council’s recycling rate for 2002/03 is 9.6%, this figure has to drastically increase and quickly.

Waste costs us money.

 Collecting and disposing of household waste costs Argyll & Bute Council approximately £9 million per year. A portion of our council tax goes towards these costs. It is us who are carrying the cost.

Waste & pollution.

Landfill sites are a potential threat to local and global environments. Rainwater seeping through landfill sites becomes ‘leachate’, a potential water pollutant. Decaying organic waste generates gases such as methane which are potentially explosive and can contribute to global warming.

A Waste of resources

Over half of the rubbish we throw away can be used to make new products. Using recycled materials instead of virgin raw materials makes economic sense. For example making new aluminium cans from bauxite, an aluminium ore, uses 20 times more energy than making them from recycled aluminium cans.