Today I risk being labelled a climate change denier, or a Trump supporter, but I am getting increasingly frustrated at the recycling nonsense we are being fed. Sadly, I am also a believer in governments making up problems for us to worry about so we don’t notice what they are really up to.

Look at all this NHS stuff that we obsess about, in particular thanks to the BBC, so that we are not being told much about what else may be happening, of greater importance, around the world. I know the NHS is precious and one of the better features of the UK, and needs protecting but there is a whole world out there!

Recycling is another great story that we can fret about and ignore other issues. I agree that we can’t just dump rubbish in holes in the ground or at sea. Unfortunately we live in a consumer society where our ‘success’ is based on how much ‘stuff’ we make or buy. That goes directly against what we should be doing – consuming less. But what government is going to go for that? The Green Party may support such ideas but they are not likely to form a government.

As consumers we are bombarded with recycling ideas but part of the problem is the amount of packaging we are lumbered with. We are supposed to be aware of all this so how is it that ‘Pringles’ are sold in tubes that could withstand a nuclear explosion. Biscuits can be among the worst too, though here the packaging is to detract from the paucity of product in the pack as much as to protect the contents.

Why am I washing yoghurt pots, and baked bean cans (with the inevitable cuts to my hands) while crisps come in bombproof packs?

The origin of this post was a visit to my parents the other week when I saw a huge plastic box of glass bottles and jars by the back gate. This area of Suffolk does not accept glass in the recycling bin. So what is the householder to do with the stuff. Drive to a supermarket that has bottle banks (which is what I did).

There are bottle banks in other, paid-for car parks too – handy revenue for the council presumably. But this is not acceptable for the elderly, who may not have cars. My council, on the other hand, accepts glass in a recycling bin. But this troubles me because this must get broken and it must be a real problem to sort it out from the plastic and cardboard. Is it really sorted?

But the last straw was the nonsense on a packet of biscuits (top) that I bought (yes, I know I should not be eating them). I was asked to send the pack (it was just a flexible sleeve, not a box) to Terracycle so it could be made into something new. So now I am asked to put a biscuit wrapper in an envelope and spend 54p to post it for recycling. Priceless!

How I long for the days when, on Saturday morning, I would go to Woolworths and get biscuits from the counter in paper bags. And take the Corona bottles to the shop to get the deposit back. We have made so much progress.

biscuits at woolworths, corona bottles deposit, recycling