Rubbish collection seems complicated these days. Where I live, I use five different bins and the collections are fortnightly. Unlike many people I observe, I squash things like aluminium cans and plastic milk bottles. It seems logical and reduces the volume of rubbish stored in the house – but does doing so help collection and recycling?
• Most material recovery facilities use conveyor belts. First, magnets detect metal, but the remaining materials are processed by shape. Flat things are considered to be cardboard; 3D objects are glass (which smashes), plastic or aluminium. This metal isn’t magnetic but can be separated using…
