Went on a road trip to Reykjavik today, left around 8:30 and got home at 8:30, the reason, to try and find out if the Environment Agency in Iceland is really as boxed in to the unreality of the regulations that they need to uphold. The answer: yes. I can understand where they are coming from, but ..... sometimes you need to communicate and not dictate and if you are dictating then the commands need to be clear and an indication given as to the correct actions. We here in the North are pretty good at our rubbish sorting, collection and disposal, we have one problem - one we would like to eliminate - it will take time, which they feel they have already given us.
We currently have a rubbish tip just outside of town that has been in operation for over 30 years. At the time that we opened the pit we got an open ended permit – these no longer exist, but ours is there - legal and all, but they want us to renew it under the new regulations.... Since this tip opened a lot of legislation and regulations have been introduced in order to reduce contamination of ground water etc. Which is all well and good. Our tip is on the side of a cliff, if there is any ground water contamination it goes out to sea... a very big sea... it has till now had no effect on the wildlife on our coastline, no one fishes there.... it's also near the river mouth – with the currents from the river taking all debri out to the fjord, which is to all those that have ever been on it, is very clear and very clean. However, we need to upfill 7 directives, otherwise day penalties will be enforced. Now, my question is – why, (when they know that we are doing all we can to reduce rubbish, recycle more), are they doing this? I just don‘t get it..... It would be cheaper for us to stop recycling and send everything to the rubbish dump in the fjord to the west, but oh no, we recycle, sort etc and send stuff to the fjord in the east for mulching, to Holland for further recycling, pick up dead animals from farmers and do what we can to make this a clean green fjord.
Yes I am pissed off.... I have always viewed myself as a bit of a greeny – I want a sustainable way of life, where we respect nature and try not to have too much of an influence – but the environmental agency in Iceland has totally lost the plot in regulations and in creating jobs for young lawyers, who have never ever ever experienced the realities of life nor care to help in finding solutions.... Yes I am pissed off......
1 comment:
The same thing happens in Australia, they keep changing the rules and regulations on us! I know that these things need to evolve, but it seems like they paint over things with far to big a brush sometimes. Like you say, they need to take into account a range of factors and show some flexibility which will allow everyone to do what is best for the environment as well as the people.
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