niq’s soapbox

This morning we had a sufficiently hard frost for much of town to be dressed in white.

Why am I remarking on such a perfectly normal thing?  Because it’s no longer normal.  We’re a thoroughly maritime climate, meaning we get neither cold winters nor hot summers.  But twenty years ago we’d have had our first such frost sometime in November, and the coldest days would remain below freezing all day.  Indeed, the government in the 1980s introduced a “cold weather” payment to help pensioners, which was triggered when the temperature maximum remained below -2 for several consecutive days (I forget how many).

And now, a first visible frost comes only in February, and is pretty much gone by 11a.m.  No wonder things like English wine are becoming mainstream!

OK, I have a dead lightbulb.  I bought a new one, and read on its little box that I should dispose of it carefully.  Not throw it out with my regular household waste.  At the same time, I’ve had to replace the batteries in my radio (for the first time this century, I believe).  Ditto.

Don’t these things come under electronic waste disposal regulations these days, meaning that someone is under an obligation to take them off my hands?  I looked at the council’s website for clues, and found none.  Their feedback form asks for such extensive information I thought it almost easier, and potentially more satisfying, to go round in person and harangue someone.

So I’ve just been.  I put the stuff I need to be rid of in a small carrier bag, and went round to complain of the absence of information, and point out that most such waste is almost certainly going straight into standard household dustbins, and hence landfill.

FWIW, they told me I can take such waste to the Crowndale facility.  I expect for most people, that means a car trip, and hence more pollution than you save by not throwing the stuff in standard domestic waste.  Yeah, right.

I also took the opportunity for a rant about the absurdity of how they recycle glass.  The lady I spoke to took the bait, and started telling me about washing all those difficult jars in hot water and detergent.  Good grief, she’s probably doing more damage washing them up than sending them to landfill!

I don’t expect it’ll do any good (except in that they took the rubbish off me).  But it can’t hurt, either, if someone gives them a hard time about it.