CONVERSATION CLASS

TOPIC: Recycling in UK
Story summary
A survey which involved 1,000 street interviews across England shows different attitudes to recycling in the North and the South.
The survey comes after a recent government report showed that recycling rates have increased only slightly over the last eight
years.

North 'rubbish' at Recycling

The North-South divide has been split open again - this time by a survey into recycling.
A report by the environmentalists behind the Keep Britain Tidy campaign says people in the North West and Yorkshire are the
worst at recycling.
The "greenest" are well-off home-owning couples in their 40s and 50s, mostly living in the South West, South East and London.
The survey was carried out by charity Environmental Campaigns (ENCAMS) to find out why England is lagging so far behind its
European counterparts on recycling.
The biggest incentive for people to recycle was the fear that a landfill site could be opened up on their doorstep or that the
government would start charging them for the amount of rubbish they binned, the survey found.
Those who admitted to doing absolutely nothing included those who do not read newspapers and believe the only people who do
recycle are "hippies, loonies and anoraks".
ENCAMS marketing director Sue Nelson said: "Recycling has an image problem and this is something organisations, pressure
groups and councils have to think about.
"From the language we use to the campaigns we run and the publicity events we stage, we have to consider how that comes
across.
"The only way to reduce the rubbish we create is to include everyone and we'll never do that unless we make environmentalism
more about the mainstream than the extreme."
What's happening around the UK?
Scotland: Eco Schools
The Royal School of Dunkeld in Scotland and Banareng Primary School in South Africa have formed a link under the Eco Schools
programme. Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell visited the school when he attended the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.
Wales: War on Waste
A "war on waste" has been declared by Merthyr Council with the launch of a new kerbside recycling scheme.
Northern Ireland: Climb every ....refrigerator
Northern Ireland faced a refrigerator mountain at the start of 2002 as thousands of fridges and freezers started to pile up in
recycling points as a new European directive banning the destruction of fridges containing CFCs came into force.
Speaking:
Read the 3 stories above about Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Then imagine that you have a budget to run a campaign to
persuade people in the north of England to recycle their household rubbish. You have to give a presentation lasting just three
minutes.
You can use some helpful prompts to assist you, prepare what you want to say.

Need to recycle...landfill sites dangerous...

Going to get worse...fridge mountain in Northern Ireland and elsewhere

Other schemes work...Merthyr Council in Wales started War on waste...collecting household rubbish...

Need to change attitudes... who could be a model for this..pop star/footballer/local person?

Campaign: plan which media (posters in street/TV(expensive), radio, schools, why not also pubs and other places...

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Make it seem natural to recycle - everyone's doing it.

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What comes to mind when you hear the word recycling?

How does recycling benefit the planet?
Are you good at recycling things?
Does your town do enough recycling?
What would the world be like without recycling?
Do you think recycling is here to stay or will we go back to a disposable goods lifestyle?
What would you think if your neighbours never recycled anything?
How much good do you think youre doing when you recycle things?
What things do you throw away that you think should be recycled?
What do you think of the idea of water recycled from sewage?
Should recycling be mandatory?
What fines should people have to pay if they do not recycle?
Do you think only educated people recycle?
Have you been to other countries where recycling is much better or worse than in your country?
What should schools teach children about recycling?
What kinds of things do you think cannot be recycled?
What are your feelings towards the recycling of nuclear waste?
Should there be a reward system for people who recycle things?
What do you think of the idea of having a special minister for recycling in the government?
Which is better, recycling or buying only the things we really need?

Writing:
The streets where you live are very dirty. You want to complain to your local councillor. Complete the following
letter

Dear Councillor Jones,

I am writing to complain __________________ the state of the streets in our part of town. I live in Robson Avenue and we now
__________________ sort our __________________ rubbish and put it in different plastic bins. We have to remember to put paper and
cardboard in the blue bin, glass (but not plastic) in the brown bin. This is a good idea __________________. But it just doesn't work.
People don't __________________ their rubbish in the correct place. __________________ the streets around the boxes are littered with
bits of rubbish.
Could I make two suggestions? __________________ - make sure that the refuse collection happens early: it's __________________
waiting till afternoon as the rubbish will blow away. Second, __________________
organising a competition for the cleanest street?

Composition:

CONVERSATION CLASS

Which is more important, increasing people's standard of living, or protecting the environment?

Think of a situation in your area involving this issue.

Which side would you choose?

FOR THE TEACHER

Writing answer: Letter to your councillor
Dear Councillor Jones,
I am writing to complain about the state of the streets in our part of town. I live in Robson Avenue and we now have to sort our
household rubbish and put it in different plastic bins.
We have to remember to put paper and cardboard in the blue bin, glass (but not plastic) in the brown bin. This is a good idea in
theory, but it just doesn't work. People don't put their rubbish in the correct place.
Consequently the streets around the boxes are littered with bits of rubbish. Could I make two suggestions? First - make sure that
the refuse collection happens early: it's no use waiting till afternoon as the rubbish will blow away. Second, how about organising
a competition for the cleanest street?
Yours sincerely

(your name goes here)