I'm having a middle class breakdown

[Real Al]

Just returned from the pub a bit pickled, after picking up a pie and chips.

After eating said culinary delight, I've wrapped the paper, pie wrapper, chips, and ketchup into the plastic bag it came in. I've then wandered into the no-man's land of the bins... and popped it in the recycling by mistake.

I'm mortified, but have no desire to dumpster dive in the rain.

What would you do...

[BoniO]

Have a brandy then go to bed.

[Real Al]

Blimey, it worked. Angst over.

I'll blame it on the cat tomorrow

[Dunners]

Nothing. Recycling is a scam anyway. It's just something we've been made to do to alleviate the sense of guilt of the wet lettuces.

Most of what you will even put in a green bin will be incinerated or wnd up in land fill in Bangladesh or something. It's quite probable that nothing you put in your green bin this year will be recycled at all.

And, when measured end-to-end and assuming your local incinerator facility has a modern filtration system, burning the stuff has a lower carbon footprint than recycling anyway.

The best thing you can do right now is have another drink.

It's just something we all do so that we can think that we're doing something.

[The Mindsweep]

More here

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/f ... dApp_Other

[George M]

A report mirroring my recent experience in West Africa. Net zero is a shameful lie. Nothing will save the planet other than lowering population and consumption. Any other sham schemes will make little difference and be akin to trying to fill a bath with the plug left out. Net zero , rewilding , multiculturalism, they are simply buzz words fed to the stupid by successive governments to make life seem more palatable than it actually is.

[Rich Tea Wellin]

lol at throwing in multiculturalism

[CEB2ElectricBoogaloo]

Net zero, rewilding, recycling, not saying nice things about my drawings, microplastics.

None of this helps!

[Dunners]

George is not entirely wrong though.

Multiculturalism is a warm & fuzzy slogan that's been adopted to normalise and pacify the systematic exploitation of ordinary people (from across the globe) in a way that reduces them to nothing more than interchangeable economic units. That's not to say that people should turn on each other, or not enjoy the benefits of multiculturalism, but we shouldn't be fooled into believing it's as virtuous as it's made out.

Do you really think that if fertility rates hadn't dropped below replacement level in the 1970s, that we'd have embarked upon this experiment to this degree?

[StillSpike]

Recommend the Netflix documentary "Buy Now". Shows, amongst other things, the recycling scam being nothing more than a sop to make us think it's OK to keep buying.

[CEB2ElectricBoogaloo]

My wife gets proper irritated when I put cans in the bin. Can I tell her she’s wrong?

[George M]

If I were running a country where the education system is stretched , failing ,and underfunded , where the NHS is overrun, where the transport infrastructure sinks under the volume wishing to use it , my first thought would not be to increase the population further . And yet that is exactly what Labour propose and we all sit here accepting that as a policy that will put us back on the track to greatness. It is a policy that makes no sense to anyone other than those making the decision.

[George M]

My wife gets proper irritated when I put cans in the bin. Can I tell her she’s wrong?

She would be better off slinging them on the hard shoulder like everyone else does

[LPE]

Just returned from the pub a bit pickled, after picking up a pie and chips.

After eating said culinary delight, I've wrapped the paper, pie wrapper, chips, and ketchup into the plastic bag it came in. I've then wandered into the no-man's land of the bins... and popped it in the recycling by mistake.

I'm mortified, but have no desire to dumpster dive in the rain.

What would you do...

Using the hipster adoption of American culture and stating ‘dumpster diver’ instead of the English ‘bin dipper’ is classic middle class behaviour.

You out middle classed yourself without even knowing it. Bravo!

[Real Al]

Who says I didn't know what I was doing?

[Hoover Attack]

If I were running a country where the education system is stretched , failing ,and underfunded , where the NHS is overrun, where the transport infrastructure sinks under the volume wishing to use it , my first thought would not be to increase the population further .

You’d tax the corporations and wealthy properly too? Welcome on board, comrade.

[LittleMate]

If I were running a country where the education system is stretched , failing ,and underfunded , where the NHS is overrun, where the transport infrastructure sinks under the volume wishing to use it , my first thought would not be to increase the population further . And yet that is exactly what Labour propose and we all sit here accepting that as a policy that will put us back on the track to greatness. It is a policy that makes no sense to anyone other than those making the decision.

All parties are on board with population expansion, mainly to cover the fact that we have an ageing population and need the younger ones to pay for it. That in itself suggests that as a country/population we have under-funded (or been ineffective) under our own model of governance (we are definitely underfunded to some degree). Having less earning adults can only affect our output and so gdp. Population growth = economic growth?

[Long slender neck]

Just returned from the pub a bit pickled, after picking up a pie and chips.

After eating said culinary delight, I've wrapped the paper, pie wrapper, chips, and ketchup into the plastic bag it came in. I've then wandered into the no-man's land of the bins... and popped it in the recycling by mistake.

I'm mortified, but have no desire to dumpster dive in the rain.

What would you do...

Hang your head in shame.

[George M]

If I were running a country where the education system is stretched , failing ,and underfunded , where the NHS is overrun, where the transport infrastructure sinks under the volume wishing to use it , my first thought would not be to increase the population further .

You’d tax the corporations and wealthy properly too? Welcome on board, comrade.

I wouldn’t. I would work out how many people can comfortably live and flourish in a country of this size. I would then ensure that we have the transport infrastructure in place so that everyone can be more productive. I challenge boarders to come up with figures showing how much productivity is lost through people not being able to carry out work duties in a timely and efficient manner.

[Long slender neck]

Nothing. Recycling is a scam anyway. It's just something we've been made to do to alleviate the sense of guilt of the wet lettuces.

Most of what you will even put in a green bin will be incinerated or wnd up in land fill in Bangladesh or something. It's quite probable that nothing you put in your green bin this year will be recycled at all.

And, when measured end-to-end and assuming your local incinerator facility has a modern filtration system, burning the stuff has a lower carbon footprint than recycling anyway.

The best thing you can do right now is have another drink.

It's just something we all do so that we can think that we're doing something.

Sounding like a conspiracy theorist.

So countries around the world are all recycling for no reason?

[George M]

If I were running a country where the education system is stretched , failing ,and underfunded , where the NHS is overrun, where the transport infrastructure sinks under the volume wishing to use it , my first thought would not be to increase the population further . And yet that is exactly what Labour propose and we all sit here accepting that as a policy that will put us back on the track to greatness. It is a policy that makes no sense to anyone other than those making the decision.

All parties are on board with population expansion, mainly to cover the fact that we have an ageing population and need the younger ones to pay for it. That in itself suggests that as a country/population we have under-funded (or been ineffective) under our own model of governance (we are definitely underfunded to some degree). Having less earning adults can only affect our output and so gdp. Population growth = economic growth?

Population growth doesn’t equal economic growth if those that are being invited in to fuel the growth don’t produce anything.

[Long slender neck]

Pretty shocked at the attitudes on this thread.

Not believing in recycling, climate change etc is surely just a belief to excuse yourself from having to do anything?

Sure, our systems aren't perfect, but I will keep trying.

[George M]

Nothing. Recycling is a scam anyway. It's just something we've been made to do to alleviate the sense of guilt of the wet lettuces.

Most of what you will even put in a green bin will be incinerated or wnd up in land fill in Bangladesh or something. It's quite probable that nothing you put in your green bin this year will be recycled at all.

And, when measured end-to-end and assuming your local incinerator facility has a modern filtration system, burning the stuff has a lower carbon footprint than recycling anyway.

The best thing you can do right now is have another drink.

It's just something we all do so that we can think that we're doing something.

Sounding like a conspiracy theorist.

So countries around the world are all recycling for no reason?

Did you not read the article. Individually placing items into a recycling bin does not mean that those items are being recycled. It’s trying to solve the result of the problem rather than the cause. Until we stop producing silly little plastic bottles of water , as an example , I will not take recycling seriously. As a minimum these should be banned with immediate effect.

[George M]

Pretty shocked at the attitudes on this thread.

Not believing in recycling, climate change etc is surely just a belief to excuse yourself from having to do anything?

Sure, our systems aren't perfect, but I will keep trying.

Nobody mentioned climate change. We don’t believe in the recycling principle when the principle is floored and , in any case , not being carried through.

[Long slender neck]

Nothing. Recycling is a scam anyway. It's just something we've been made to do to alleviate the sense of guilt of the wet lettuces.

Most of what you will even put in a green bin will be incinerated or wnd up in land fill in Bangladesh or something. It's quite probable that nothing you put in your green bin this year will be recycled at all.

And, when measured end-to-end and assuming your local incinerator facility has a modern filtration system, burning the stuff has a lower carbon footprint than recycling anyway.

The best thing you can do right now is have another drink.

It's just something we all do so that we can think that we're doing something.

Sounding like a conspiracy theorist.

So countries around the world are all recycling for no reason?

Did you not read the article. Individually placing items into a recycling bin does not mean that those items are being recycled. It’s trying to solve the result of the problem rather than the cause. Until we stop producing silly little plastic bottles of water , as an example , I will not take recycling seriously. As a minimum these should be banned with immediate effect.

"Because consumerism" and because "some things aren't recycled" are not good enough reasons not to try