ANOTHER POTTY STATEMENT

Month after month, I wait with baited breath to see whether our esteemed leader has at last reached the point where he presents us with a credible money saving idea! And month after month, his blog disappoints!

This month (August) he reveals the personal frustration he has with the fact that he cannot put used ‘yoghurt pots’ in his ‘green bin’ for recycling! This issue is troubling the Tameside leader so much, that he tells us he is raising this with the new chair of Greater Manchester Waste, Cllr Catherine Piddington, who also happens to be a Tameside councillor.

Now, presumably this on-going problem with our executive leaders used yogurt pots; which obviously is causing the Quinn family many sleepless nights, is based on the fact that yoghurt pots are made of a different kind of plastic called polystyrene and the false belief that polystyrene cannot be recycled.

However, in truth all plastics can be recycled; the only restrictions are to do with having the right facilities and the infra-structure in place. So when one considers the fact the GMWDA is purported to be England’s largest Waste Disposal Authority which claims to provide a world class environmentally sustainable solution for Greater Manchester’s waste; and who, five years ago entered into a £631million - 25 year contract with Viridor Laing (Greater Manchester) Limited (VLGM), one could be forgiven for assuming that he, as the executive leader of an authority member, would be expected to have been aware of the fact that extrusion machinery has now been developed to produce products from mixed plastics, including polystyrene, that was once thought impossible.

SEED POTS

On the other hand, if the executive leader has written his monthly piece based on ignorance of modern waste recycling methods, he might still have stretched his thoughts to another form of recycling; that of using the empty pots for alternative uses. (Re-using)

For instance yoghurt pots and other plastic containers of all sizes and descriptions can be used for a variety of uses in the greenhouse and garden. They pots make ideal seed pots, bird feeders and even to deal with insect pest control.

BIRD FEEDERS

They can also be usefully employed in schools and playgroups for making a variety of artistic items, in addition to crayon, paint and chalk holders and other crafts.

TAMESIDE COUNCILLORS

However, the most ironic statement in this month’s blog was his statement:

“We have to stop literally wasting money, so as a bit of a reminder I have asked that stickers be placed on ‘£andfill’ bins to point this out.”

So, he intends to waste taxpayers’ money, printing and distributing tens of thousands of stickers to stick on our bins to remind us to stop wasting money!

Brilliant! …I can’t wait for next month’s epistle!