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Post by wendyb on Jun 25, 2016 23:58:52 GMT 2
In Roda at the moment, we noticed that wherever we've been - starting on the road to Acharavi and all the way down to Ipsos, there's great piles of uncollected rubbish everywhere. Thought maybe the bin men were on strike but a quick Google shows that it's due to access to the landfill site being blocked by local residents. This seems to be ongoing, as the same thing happened last year. Hopefully this will be sorted soon as it can't be good for tourism and is bound to put people off. But one thing I have noticed is that for us, there is no way to recycle at all. Brits are used to recycling, we have to do it at home, but there's absolutely no recycling bins here at all. Obviously if you're staying in a hotel and not responsible for taking out your own rubbish there's not much you can do, but there's plenty of places where you have to take out your own rubbish. But there's no point in separating it as there's nowhere to recycle. Provision of recycling bins or even just bottle banks would help, and maybe in the long run help the landfill problem. Just my own thoughts....
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pete sant
Roda Anorak
Roda Riddler 2008
UNITED - NOT ARROGANT - JUST BETTER
Posts: 6,977
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Post by pete sant on Jun 26, 2016 6:14:12 GMT 2
The blue bins are for recycling, they are for plastic, paper, cardboard etc, we always keep ours separate from the household waste but with the present situation all the rubbish is getting put on the same piles. pete.
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Post by artisans on Jun 26, 2016 9:23:10 GMT 2
As Pete said, Wendy, there’s not much point in separating rubbish at the moment, the best way is not to generate it if at all possible. I think recycling in the UK is patchy compared to other countries, and again it’s a bit of a postcode lottery with some areas being far more advanced than others. Being a small island, with a huge tourist influx in the summer, landfill is always going to be difficult and we don’t have the recycling plants that are expensive to build. Local people say that the situation is ‘political’, so the blockade is an attempt to get the politicians to take action. If you want to help, then you can put your comments to the Mayor of Corfu by filling in the box on
www.corfu.gr/web/guest/contact.
Steve
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Post by kathwebber on Jun 26, 2016 14:19:30 GMT 2
As someone that lives in the UK I don't agree about recycling being patchy. In the north-east if you don't dispose of your household rubbish correctly (correct recycling etc) a fine is levied by the local authority. I agree with Wendy above and particularly were I a first time visitor to Corfu this year the piles of rubbish with the associated problems would make me think twice about revisiting.
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Post by saint on Jun 26, 2016 14:45:11 GMT 2
I noticed the mounds of rubbishbehind the pumping station in MAY .Definitley detrimental from a first time visitor ,didnt laurence mention it last year? .
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Post by saint on Jun 26, 2016 14:47:52 GMT 2
first rule . dont post after heavy night on budwieser,should read first time visitor perspective.
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Post by wendyb on Jun 26, 2016 16:56:53 GMT 2
I can't comment on the rest of the U.K. but where we live in the West Midlands it's not patchy at all. I'd like not to create any rubbish but, being on holiday, buying bottled water, cans/bottles of beer/pop/wine makes rubbish unavoidable. I'd be quite happy to recycle if there was some way to do so, as to be honest it feels a bit odd not to. But I suppose if there's no recycling plants to take the recycling to then there's not much point, is there.
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Post by artisans on Jun 26, 2016 22:29:56 GMT 2
Maybe I should have explained what I meant by ‘patchy’, Kath, and clearly your system works to your satisfaction, as does Wendy’s. As someone who has lived in many areas of the UK, there is absolutely no consistency across the country - it is patchy. Facilities that I enjoyed in Slough, in the 1990s, are still to be adopted in north Wales over twenty years later. What one council deems to be important, another ignores completely. I can assure you that the philosophy of recycling in north Kent, is quite different from that in towns outside of Glasgow. To add to that, recycling in France, Spain & Italy is light years ahead of even the best schemes in the UK, and Austria actually imports rubbish from other countries. The British were a long way behind Europe and are only just starting to catch up.
Corfu has a severe problem at the moment, but I think the collection services here are very good when they are allowed to be. There are always ways to reduce our rubbish generation, such as cutting back on processed foods, returning beer bottles to the supermarkets, drinking tap water, etc. It is unfortunate that first-time visitors will get the wrong impression, but let’s hope there are enough of us who love Corfu to spread the message and save the day.
Steve
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Post by smg on Jun 26, 2016 22:53:32 GMT 2
My daughter has just arrived in Roda with three friends after their A levels. She has been many times before and is well aware of the current problems, her friends are first time visitors and I am looking forward to their views on this problem.
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Post by daveyh on Jun 27, 2016 9:24:44 GMT 2
Agree that everyone can reduce rubbish themselves even though cannot have fires at this time of year. Corfu does need to change but then in Greece there is no money for infrastructure at present. The landfill site has never operated in accordance with EU rules and as a result Greece was fined and it was closed. The locals I understand are worried about the health issues at the landfill and in blocking they are only enforcing what the EU said. Problem is you cannot find alternatives easily especially when you are an Island. Has anybody seen the shambolic rubbish dump on Ericoussa?
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Post by withgreekorigin22 on Jun 27, 2016 13:21:19 GMT 2
I can't grumble about the recycling in wallsend, nor can James' parents in West Yorkshire. It's seems the problem with recycling begins and ends in the south of England mainly close to the capital....? I will find NOT 'generating waste' a problem as I need to eat/drink and use the bathroom facilities. Good thought process but not at all practical.
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Post by roda happy on Jun 27, 2016 16:34:01 GMT 2
my son just came back from corfu and was appalled at the rubbish dumps not a good advert for holidays glad we have good collections in England they really need to get a grip if they want people to visit
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Post by kernowman on Jun 27, 2016 16:46:08 GMT 2
The last figures for UK recycling are for 2014 and are as follows:- England 44.8% NI 43.6% Scots 41.05% Wales 54.8%
Th e EU requires a figure of 50% for the Uk by 2020 so already Wales has achieved that figure whilst the worst is Scotland
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Post by artisans on Jun 27, 2016 22:26:14 GMT 2
Mark Twain said "There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” For sure, the UK has improved dramatically from its dismal level of 12% recycling in 2001, but then it’s easy to make the most progress when you’re bottom of the fourth division. The stats relate only to recycling plant and they take no consideration of how the population of any one country recycle goods without them ever reaching the bins. Greeks are natural recyclers - why buy a plastic funnel when you can chop the top off a water bottle? Statistics are notoriously unreliable ...
Of course, Corfu, today, has a serious problem. I have noticed that much of the rubbish generated by businesses is being more carefully bagged and removed to areas away from the normal tourist trails. This is leaving empty bins in some places, and consolidating the problem in places that have less impact, and from which the rubbish can be removed when the solution is found.
... and Kelly, our septic tanks are still working, so don’t worry too much!
Steve
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Post by Anna on Jun 27, 2016 23:05:57 GMT 2
We are arriving to Roda for the first time on 6th July . I have to say I am very concerned about the reports on different forums about the amount of Rubbish everywhere. We had been looking forward to long walks and hiring bikes , hiring a car to see around Corfu,what sort of impact is it having , the smell and has it caused a rise in mosquitos etc.
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