More uselessness from DBC

[Reportage]

Here’s the quote to the BBC from Mr Rice the council CEOs son saying how great he and his family (eg Mrs Rice) thought the DBC changes were. What a ringer. So sad when public officials try to dupe the public like this. 

[Boris Johnson]

6 minutes ago, 0bserver said:

Ah yes. The politicians favourite new excuse, Ukraine, now they can't blame shit on Covid. 

Yes, Ukraine is being torn apart by the Russian military machine. There's massive collateral damage and we should all empathise with the Ukrainian people... that doesn't mean we should use it as an excuse to accept dropping living standards both here and in the UK.

 

Bi weekly bin collection is hardly a drop in living standards.

Its called progression.

Would you like that we had outside toilets and people coming round to empty them

 

[Gladys]

35 minutes ago, code99 said:

As far as the boat is concerned, I agree with you. However, to me, the CO2 issue is not only about the segment of the recyclable journey that’s is by boat, it is also the segments which are by road and also what happens to the recycled materials after they reach some designated destination. E.g., all processes used to transform recyclable materials into ‘new products’ must consume energy and therefore additionally generate CO2. This pollution should be taken into account. I have read that England’s recycling rates were around 50% but have recently fallen to 43%. There does not seem to be much of an audit of what actually happens in the UK and whether some of our (DBC) recyclable material ends up in landfills either in the UK or somewhere around the planet. Controversially, and (from a green point of view at least) inconsistently, the UK Government has recently given the go ahead to a new coal mine. I think almost everyone agrees that this decision was a huge mistake.

I don’t approve dissing people who want to do the right thing by environment, but some so called environmentalists seem to be ‘picking and choosing’ their ‘green’ objective on a whim. It is reasonably easy for a well-off person to adjust their lifestyle to consume more fresh fruits/ vegetables than for poorer families who can only afford to buy cheaper high calorie, highly processed food. Highly processed food often comes with lots of unrecyclable packaging. Choosing ‘healthy and environmentally friendly options’ might make a prosperous person feel comparatively virtuous, but chances are these same people also spend a lot more money ordering stuff online and don’t care very much about how much CO2 is emitted when individual home deliveries are made to them.

I wholeheartedly agree with Sir David Attenborough who said that protecting the environment for all species and all generations is a global task of paramount importance and that this is crucial for the survival of humankind. However, any action taken to protect the environment must deliver tangible results, and not just be something that middle class people do to make themselves feel good. If the things we humans chose to do to protect the planet are not done properly, then we may well all end up doing more harm than good.

I agree with all that.  But what this is also about is getting people to think about waste and how to reduce their consumption, rather than just toss everything in the bin with no further thought. 

On the 'well off middle class' argument, that may be true, but it may also be an unfair assessment of people who want to do the right thing, not virtue signal.  If those who are happy to recycle were virtue signallers, last night's meeting was an ideal opportunity platform to display their virtue. 

I also don't agree that poorer families are limited to highly packaged processed food.  It really isn't the cheap option, quite the reverse and not only is it not cheap, you need a lot more to get the bulk.  Fresh fruit and veg is not that expensive and how much of it is actually in processed food anyway?  Absolutely nothing wrong with packing with potatoes or pasta which are cheap, as are the less glamorous veggies like carrots and cabbage. 

[Roger Mexico]

34 minutes ago, Reportage said:

Here’s the quote to the BBC from Mr Rice the council CEOs son saying how great he and his family (eg Mrs Rice) thought the DBC changes were. What a ringer. So sad when public officials try to dupe the public like this. 

Well when Rice was appointed, it was said she had 20 years experience as an English solicitor, which would make her 45 or a bit less and so 60 or a little under now.  The guy pictured appears a bit old to have a mother that age.  There are at least nine people with the surname Rice in the local phonebook (and most people are ex directory nowadays so you can more than double that) and Rice is in the 500 most common British surnames.

But yes of course he must be her son.  Because you say so.

[Non-Believer]

Have DBC (or indeed any other LA) ever challenged the incinerator charges levied upon them?

Or is it another of the Great Unquestionables in the Island's governance?

[Asthehills]

47 minutes ago, Reportage said:

Here’s the quote to the BBC from Mr Rice the council CEOs son saying how great he and his family (eg Mrs Rice) thought the DBC changes were. What a ringer. So sad when public officials try to dupe the public like this. 

I don’t care who he is related to, he is right.

[Jarndyce]

1 hour ago, Reportage said:

so sad to see how they pitched a complete ringer

 

48 minutes ago, Reportage said:

So sad when public officials try to dupe the public like this. 

It’s the “so sad” that makes it art…

[Asthehills]

9 minutes ago, Gladys said:

also don't agree that poorer families are limited to highly packaged processed food.  It really isn't the cheap option, quite the reverse and not only is it not cheap, you need a lot more to get the bulk.  Fresh fruit and veg is not that expensive and how much of it is actually in processed food anyway?

I normally agree with what you are posting but this is absolute nonsense.

Fresh fruit and veg is hugely expensive when compared to value nuggets and chips.

[Gladys]

12 minutes ago, Asthehills said:

I normally agree with what you are posting but this is absolute nonsense.

Fresh fruit and veg is hugely expensive when compared to value nuggets and chips.

Value nuggets and chips don't come with lots of packaging a plastic bag which Tesco will accept for recycling.  It is the proposition that poorer families are stuck with highly packaged processed food and so are going to produce more waste that I was arguing about.  So, thinking of, say, the pre-prepared pasta dishes with either plastic or foil containers and often with a cardboard sleeve.  Not cheap, not filling and lots of packaging. 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Gladys

[Two-lane]

9 minutes ago, Asthehills said:

I don’t care who he is related to, he is right.

In these circumstances, people are expected to state a conflict of interest. If he is indeed related to the CEO of DBC, that is a conflict of interest.

People who do not declare conflicts of interest are being, politely speaking, disingenuous.

You may consider that in this case he is correct, but also you should consider that, in general, in my opinion, he cannot be trusted.

I think that Kathleen Rice is the person who decided that the title of Town Clerk did not fit her ego - ergo the title CEO.

[Gladys]

5 minutes ago, Two-lane said:

In these circumstances, people are expected to state a conflict of interest. 

Are they?  He was only a member of the audience,  it was a forum to air views not make decisions (despite the 'vote' which was nothing more than a straw poll really).  

[Reportage]

23 minutes ago, Two-lane said:

People who do not declare conflicts of interest are being, politely speaking, disingenuous.

You are correct it would be a clear conflict of interest. If we had a proper press they’d surely already be asking Kathleen Rice (Council CEO) what her relationship with Nicholas Rice is. Especially as Nicholas Rice has made public statements to the press on behalf of his family supporting the recycling initiative of Douglas Borough Council without declaring any form of interest or connection. 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Reportage

[Two-lane]

3 minutes ago, Gladys said:

Are they?  He was only a member of the audience,  it was a forum to air views not make decisions (despite the 'vote' which was nothing more than a straw poll really).  

Yes, I think so. From the comments here, he was not there as a "member of the audience", but was there to promote the interests of DBC.

How about the audience of a BBC tv political debate, where one party has seeded the audience with supporters?

Or any politcal rally where the "protestors" have been infiltrated with activists in one sense or other?

There is no difference here.

I think, Glad, you are looking at  this from the legal requirements of a business meeting where there is probably a written requirement to state conflicts.

 

 

[Asthehills]

33 minutes ago, Two-lane said:

In these circumstances, people are expected to state a conflict of interest. If he is indeed related to the CEO of DBC, that is a conflict of interest.

People who do not declare conflicts of interest are being, politely speaking, disingenuous.

You may consider that in this case he is correct, but also you should consider that, in general, in my opinion, he cannot be trusted.

I think that Kathleen Rice is the person who decided that the title of Town Clerk did not fit her ego - ergo the title CEO.

It might not be a wise PR move but I don’t see how it’s a conflict of interest that should be declared?

If he pays rates in Douglas he is entitled to his opinion.

How many family members actually agree on stuff anyway?

My mrs thinks Manxforums is an accurate representation of normal views of locals.  She is clearly a bit nuts (which is probably why she married me)

Edited December 13, 2022 by Asthehills

[Asthehills]

6 minutes ago, Two-lane said:

How about the audience of a BBC tv political debate, where one party has seeded the audience with supporters?

You don’t think there is anyway that the anti progress people had a few family members and friends in there at all?

Not even the comments on her and other social media about how the meeting that THEY had arranged, probably wouldn’t be very well attended?