Recycling and JEC

[MichaelSB]

I received my club magazine this morning and it crossed my mind is the plastic bag that it is posted in Recyclable? I don’t know how many are sent out each month but it all adds up
Michael

[Zennan101]

Michael raise a valid point. I think the answer is technically 'Yes' but in practise most recycling centres will not accept or cannot process this type of plastic. Here in Exeter this packaging has to go for incineration not recycling.
Perhaps the club should acknowledge that the use if plastics is going to be increasingly questioned and its use of any plastic that is not recyclable needs to be reviewed.

Rod

[jBlackwell]

Very good point,
All I can do is raise it with the appropriate people who would make that decision.

Regards

James Blackwell
Assistant general Manager

[jBlackwell]

Well it appears I am behind the loop. Graham had already enquired recently about this very thing and here is the breakdown of Graham's reply to another member:

Hi David

Thanks for the email, a very good question, so I put it to our distributors who replied:

"The material is polythene not plastic so it is recyclable.

There are options currently available to eliminate poly from mailings but we are finding that publishers are finding them either unpalatable or cost prohibitive.

The easiest & cheapest is to naked mail. For this you simply leave a space on the front or back cover and address directly onto the mag. This is popular with 'junk mail' products but no magazine publisher does it as it comprises the product and encourages theft in the supply chain.

We can mail out in envelopes but that option is very very expensive as I am sure you can imagine.

The polywrapping machine manufacturers are working on a machine that will wrap in paper rather than poly but this is in the early stages of development so it will be a while before an viable option may be available

I hope this helps & we will of course keep you informed when any cost effective alternatives become available"

From our perspective we wouldn’t want to go "naked" and the envelope system is too expensive to contemplate, but we will await with interest the developments by the manufacturers.

Kind regards

Graham Searle

Hope that helps?

Regards
James Blackwell
Assistant General Manager

[Zennan101]

Hi James,

Thanks for the update. It’s good to see that the club is being proactive in seeking a change. I guess we just need to keep pushing and keep the need for a solution on the radar.

Rod

[poprivet]

I think it strange that we worry about the bag that the magazine is delivered in when we all buy rolls of bags to wrap our everyday rubbish up in, that rubbish also containing plastics of all types.

Our council won't accept many plastics even though it has a triangle re-cycle symbol on it such as black food trays, thin PP bags and yogurt pots etc.

One last point, are we really that concerned about the environment when we happily run V8's and V12's

[RichardSEL]

A4 paper sacks (that'll double as protective envelopes sealed on a packaging machine) have been around since I was reporting the packaging industry in the 80s (former deputy editor Packaging Today)
It's just that magazine distributors or their printing plants won't invest in different plant simply on the altrusive concern of saving the planet.
http://www.forumpackaging.co.uk/our-ser ... aper-sacks

The one I remember visiting the manufacturing plant for was a machine that produced a form of mechanically produced end fold seal called a Fap Sack. Dunno what happened to the machine as I only did a year on that title.
It didn't include an address labeller so those would've had to been added manually later -- using <shock, horror> a
real person

And what's wrong with driving a V8 or V12? At least I'm not <choke, gasp, achihooo!> killing people around me by belching out diesel particulates according to Brussels's (now proven scientifically wrong) diktat...

[BigCatXJS]

It frustrates me when I see;
- food packaging that does not contain any identifiers thus prohibiting any recycling opportunity
- inconsistencies between councils / districts on what can be recycled meaning that some of what I recycle is probably dumped / burnt

My JEC magazine packaging goes in the recycling bin but I have no idea if it is actually recycled...

To address the point around caring about the environment and running V8s / V12s - I notice that straight sixes did not make it onto the list or four cylinder engines I think that it would be a terrible waste of energy and precious / scarce materials (just think how energy was expended in manufacturing a car - especially before the days of true automation) if good examples of any car were to be scrapped on the basis that it did not meet the latest emissions controls or fuel efficiency targets. Compromised examples no longer road worthy can be used for parts for good examples.

Turning to the XJS specifically, I doubt that many V12s are running as "dailys" and covering 12K+ miles a year. Any that do would really be an exception. I don't recall seeing many XJS V12 in the 80's being used as motorway sales rep cars in the first place (mostly Vauxhall Cavaliers or Ford Sierras covered that role I think). My own XJS v12 started out as a directors car but really did not cover much mileage at all. Twenty nine years later it has 72K miles. Its unusual if my XJS covers more than 1,500 miles per year. I cant prove it but I suspect that 1,500 miles in a V12 versus 20,000 in a euro six+ petrol or diesel car means that I'm not being a complete environmental vandal

When my BMW diesel (used for weekly run to Nottingham) or XJ40 (local runs, low miles) eventually becomes non-viable I suspect that one of them may be replaced by an electric car on a green tariff.

Cheers, Rich

[BrianG]

Well it appears I am behind the loop. Graham had already enquired recently about this very thing and here is the breakdown of Graham's reply to another member:

....................... so I put it to our distributors who replied:
"The material is polythene not plastic so it is recyclable.

There are options currently available to eliminate poly from mailings but we are finding that publishers are finding them either unpalatable or cost prohibitive.

The easiest & cheapest is to naked mail. For this you simply leave a space on the front or back cover and address directly onto the mag. This is popular with 'junk mail' products but no magazine publisher does it as it comprises the product and encourages theft in the supply chain.

We can mail out in envelopes but that option is very very expensive as I am sure you can imagine. ..........

James,
I can't give much credibility to a manufacturer who states that polythene is not plastic! I'm sure they have a vested interest in maintaining plastic because the handling machinery is in place and the bulk material is so much cheaper than paper. The topic of plastic mailing wrappers had been to the fore for some months with a magazine I get from a model engineering group: they have reverted to a sealed full paper envelope and don't consider the extra cost prohibitive. Please don't go down the route of "naked mailing".

[poprivet]

My JEC magazine packaging goes in the recycling bin but I have no idea if it is actually recycled...

I quote from Hampshire council:

"If it's made of plastic and shaped like a bottle, we want it!
Drink bottles, milk bottles, shampoo bottles, cleaning product bottles.
Please remove lids if possible and empty any liquid content.
No other plastic - only plastic and bottle shaped."

https://www.hants.gov.uk/wasteandrecycl ... whatweneed

So for Hampshire at least the JEC magazine wrapper is NOT recycleable whatever anyone thinks. Placing it in the recycle bin only contaminates the rest and adds to the cost of removing it.

[PPV]

I have checked with Cheshire councils and they say they accept the wrap as it is the same as other plastic materials accepted. So in my recycle bin it goes.
The issue is that there is no uniform approach across the country on what materials are ok.

[BigCatXJS]

I have just checked with Northamptonshire CC concerning the Magazine wrapper;
- It IS recycled if its taken to a County Waste Disposal / Recycling site
- It IS NOT recycled if collected kerb-side; only plastic items such as the below are catered for;
Food pots and tubs
Margarine tubs
Plastic trays
Yoghurt pots
Cleaner and detergent bottles
Milk bottles
Drinks bottles
Toiletries and shampoo bottles

I would agree that the inconsistency across counties and even between kerb-side and local waste centres is not helpful and quite frustrating.

[Zennan101]

I think the range of replies make it clear that recycling the magazine packaging is not clear cut. Let's do our bit as a club and ditch the plastic packaging. It might be difficult and it might have cost implications but it is doable if we have the will.

Rod

[steve_m]

Obviously the way to go is to produce it in electronic format only so that we can download it.
That way you get rid of the plastic packaging and the paper and ink (and electricity) used to print it.
Can't see it being that popular a move though.
Thinking it through further you also get rid of the transportation.
So it's a pretty 'green' option really.

[Tintin]

The magazine is passed around the kitchen table here and "dipped into" as and when - it stays "live" for several weeks and is far more use as hard copy. You can carry this recycling thing too far IMO.

Robbie