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So the EU says yellow mealworms are safe to eat.

Come on Boris, what about us in the UK?
When are we going to be allowed to eat yellow mealworms?
Not sure why you posted that TBH? Insect protein (for those who eat animals) is a growing source of food - some countries have been eating insects for millennia anyway.
Surely no worse than the crap in sausages, cheap burgers or 'reconstituted meat'?
 
Happy to give it a go, after all most red food dye you'll eat is from Beetles. And most of the rest of the world eat insects.
Aren't Prawns closely related to insects? People have no problems eating them.
 
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I remember back in the day when I wouldn’t eat all my dinner my mother used to say to me
β€œ Think of those in Biafra β€œ and I used to think β€œ Biafra where the f**k is that?”
 
Going back to BWL's initial post, I think the article linked stated new EU rules came into force on the 1st January, so it will be interesting to see how these figures change in the next 5 years or so.

Agree with you about all countries should be ashamed.
I know we've moved on to eating bugs now, but just going back a bit....to the waste plastics/waste export issue.

In truth there is a conflation of two issues here.

The export of hazardous waste has absolutely nothing to do with the change of rules that came in to force on 1st Jan. These new rules are as a result of changes to something called the Basel convention (the place in Switzerland) which governs the international movement of certain wastes and have tightened requirements on export of waste plastics for recycling in non-OECD countries (so think mostly Asia, SE Asian destinations). Basically, they don't prevent export to those countries, but they are there to make sure the stuff is as uncontaminated as possible by making it easier for single polymer loads to go an bringing in a requirement to make sure that the place it is going to is actually going to recycle it - if the recycling plant isn't operating to the same standard we (or the EU I should say) would expect to happen here (or in the EU), then it can't go. It also imposes extra notification requirements on mixed polymer loads - again aimed at making sure stuff is as recyclable as possible (single type of plastic = higher quality raw material) and as free from contamination as possible.

And that is the clean end of the waste we export. We also export rather a lot (2.5million tonnes per year- about half of what we produce) of something the industry calls RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) to Europe (mainly Holland and Sweden). It is all the crap that is too contaminated to recyle, that is squished into bales and wrapped with sileage wrap, put on lorries (quite a bit of it) and sent through Dover (main port). The government (and industry) will tell you this is a waste recovery activity because the energy is recovered by the incinerator it goes to and used in local heating schemes or in electricity generation.

Sorry for the diversion from eating insect protein...just another example of a problem we are not really dealing with and expecting someone else to provide a solution to!
 
I know we've moved on to eating bugs now, but just going back a bit....to the waste plastics/waste export issue.

In truth there is a conflation of two issues here.

The export of hazardous waste has absolutely nothing to do with the change of rules that came in to force on 1st Jan. These new rules are as a result of changes to something called the Basel convention (the place in Switzerland) which governs the international movement of certain wastes and have tightened requirements on export of waste plastics for recycling in non-OECD countries (so think mostly Asia, SE Asian destinations). Basically, they don't prevent export to those countries, but they are there to make sure the stuff is as uncontaminated as possible by making it easier for single polymer loads to go an bringing in a requirement to make sure that the place it is going to is actually going to recycle it - if the recycling plant isn't operating to the same standard we (or the EU I should say) would expect to happen here (or in the EU), then it can't go. It also imposes extra notification requirements on mixed polymer loads - again aimed at making sure stuff is as recyclable as possible (single type of plastic = higher quality raw material) and as free from contamination as possible.

And that is the clean end of the waste we export. We also export rather a lot (2.5million tonnes per year- about half of what we produce) of something the industry calls RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) to Europe (mainly Holland and Sweden). It is all the crap that is too contaminated to recyle, that is squished into bales and wrapped with sileage wrap, put on lorries (quite a bit of it) and sent through Dover (main port). The government (and industry) will tell you this is a waste recovery activity because the energy is recovered by the incinerator it goes to and used in local heating schemes or in electricity generation.

Sorry for the diversion from eating insect protein...just another example of a problem we are not really dealing with and expecting someone else to provide a solution to!

Worry not...... we won`t need to export it soon.
Whizz it up the M40 or the M1.
 
Just glorified wood-lice. Heavily glorified, mind.
We've had this terrible crisis here over the last few weeks, that China has stopped buying Western Rock Lobster (huge gorgeous juicy saltwater crayfish), so they've been $20 or less per tail (400g or so). "Not marinated grilled lobster again, Dad ...".
 
Worry not...... we won`t need to export it soon.
Whizz it up the M40 or the M1.
Drop in the ocean I'm afraid. Figures for exports can be found here: https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/rdf-exports-continue-to-fall-in-2019/

Although the caveat is this was written a year ago and before Covid hit (not that this has stopped RDF being exported, but there is more being burned in this country as less commerical waste has been produced, which normally takes up capacity).

Anyway...you need to start worrying about what they're going to do with all that extra healthcare waste being generated from extra PPE, mass testing and vaccination programs ;)
 
Worry not...... we won`t need to export it soon.
Whizz it up the M40 or the M1.

Oxfordshire have already done that:

 
As you know a lot of rubbish (pun!!) is the greater plan 1 such facility for each County or more?

As for PPE ..... we`ve reached a contractual "issue" with our waste contractor due to the increased volume (massive!) and their obligations.... :rolleyes:
I doubt we are alone.....
This is probably the most complete (and most recent) data on existing and planned capacity: https://www.tolvik.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tolvik-UK-EfW-Statistics-2019-Report-June-2020.pdf

The real concern is that whilst "onshoring" more of our waste management capacity is good in one way, there is a realistic possibility that it will not necessarily drive the right behaviours in terms of waste minimisation, re-use and recycling which are all preferable to burning it (and effectively losing the resource forever). Recycling rates have stalled and funding for things like waste minimisation at LA level have been drastically cut (along with most things in LA budgets :rolleyes: ). Unless we start producing clean source-segrated recyclates, then we will continue to burn large amounts of stuff we can't be bothered to recycle!

RE: PPE - no I don't think you are alone, healthcare and clinical waste is a persistent problem - it will be a scenario repeated the length and breadth of the country I'm sure!....hell it's a pandemic, so it will be a problem just about everywhere on the planet!

We save ourselves from a pandemic, only to drown in our own PPE/Covid waste....oh the irony🀣
 
further to the touring artists visa issue - BoJo in an interview showing exactly how little he knows about the deal he has signed suggested that artists/crew can travel to Europe for 90 days in 180 without problem. He doesn't seem to realise that they would need a visa to work.
 
I know we've moved on to eating bugs now, but just going back a bit....to the waste plastics/waste export issue.

In truth there is a conflation of two issues here.

The export of hazardous waste has absolutely nothing to do with the change of rules that came in to force on 1st Jan. These new rules are as a result of changes to something called the Basel convention (the place in Switzerland) which governs the international movement of certain wastes and have tightened requirements on export of waste plastics for recycling in non-OECD countries (so think mostly Asia, SE Asian destinations). Basically, they don't prevent export to those countries, but they are there to make sure the stuff is as uncontaminated as possible by making it easier for single polymer loads to go an bringing in a requirement to make sure that the place it is going to is actually going to recycle it - if the recycling plant isn't operating to the same standard we (or the EU I should say) would expect to happen here (or in the EU), then it can't go. It also imposes extra notification requirements on mixed polymer loads - again aimed at making sure stuff is as recyclable as possible (single type of plastic = higher quality raw material) and as free from contamination as possible.

And that is the clean end of the waste we export. We also export rather a lot (2.5million tonnes per year- about half of what we produce) of something the industry calls RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) to Europe (mainly Holland and Sweden). It is all the crap that is too contaminated to recyle, that is squished into bales and wrapped with sileage wrap, put on lorries (quite a bit of it) and sent through Dover (main port). The government (and industry) will tell you this is a waste recovery activity because the energy is recovered by the incinerator it goes to and used in local heating schemes or in electricity generation.

Sorry for the diversion from eating insect protein...just another example of a problem we are not really dealing with and expecting someone else to provide a solution to!
Thanks for dragging us back out of Bashamwonderland's rabbit hole. πŸ‡
 
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