Recycling Encouraged via Post System
May 24, 2006 at 12:18 pm
The UK’s major recycling site – recyclenow.com has joined forced with Royal Mail to produce the first ever cancellation mark showing the sites logo and web address.
The cancellation mark can be seen up by the stamp on your letters and is printed as the letter goes through the sorting machines to show the stamp has been used – or cancelled.
This is a huge effort to make people aware of the site and indeed encourage them to recycle at home and will hopefully have a great effect, as letters with the stamp on should fall through between 6 and 7 million letterboxes each day. The campaign has been running since the 8th May and will continue until 18th June so look out for the recycling stamp on your post.
Rubbish Needn’t be a Dirty Word!
May 19, 2006 at 12:55 pm
I’d love to take credit for this slogan but it does in fact belong to the creators of Junkk.com. Haven’t heard of them? Well listen up. If you are interested in novel new ways to conserve resources and be more environmentally friendly then this is definitely worth a look.
So what is the idea of Junkk.com? Well, do you ever empty a container, packet, box etc and think to yourself just as you are about to throw it in the bin “hmm, this is too nice to throw away really, what else could I use it for…?” I know I have done it before and hoarded items, sometimes reused, but often not. Here’s where Junkk.com comes in. You may have found the perfect use for that empty cereal box and want to share it with the world or you may be stumped at what to do with that funky chocolate container and need some inspiration.
Reusing is an important factor in reducing the amount of waste we throw out and conserving the earths resources. This site highlights the fact that so much effort is sometimes invested in making packaging look good so why not take advantage and continue enjoying the design and functionality by making a new use for that ‘waste’ item.
So, you can browse Junkk’s idea section to find out how to make a woggle out of a bottle top or a set of dumbbells out if a couple of empty malteser containers and you can submit your own creations too. There is also plenty of items on there with a reuse idea required so get if you are feeling creative about an empty bottle, jar or well designed packaging then have a browse and add your idea.
Inviting the Worms to Stay
May 3, 2006 at 9:39 am
How would you like the idea of nearly 2000 earthworms sharing your kitchen space?
Martin Bartos, Scotish Green Party member commented how his resident worms ‘really aren’t any bother’. He’s refering to his wormery – a simple and efficient way of converting kitchen waste into compost and liquid feed – all you need to do is throw your left over peelings and used coffee in and the worms do the work.
Nearly a third of our household waste is organic and so can be recycled in this way, so if everyone had a wormery at home or in the garden the amount of waste going to landfill would be dramatically reduced.
You may be thinking, is it complicated or pricey to set up a wormery at home but it really isn’t. There are commercial wormerys on the market, but you can just as easily make your own using cheap plastic storage boxes and a few extra items available from the DIY store as illustrated here.
This size wormery may be more suited to your garden or an outside space but if this is not available, there are smaller options which can sit on your windowsill and you can even improvise with something such as an old fishtank or small dustbin.
Green living is no longer reserved for hippies and duty bound Green Party members, everyone shold be environmentally aware. Living in a confined space within the city also shouldn’t mean that you opt out, you just have to improvise. Its not all about having your own energy sources or having land to grow your own vegetables, there are ways everyone can adapt.
Make a wormery, take your glass, tins and paper to the recyling bank or put out for collection and reuse household items where possible. Our recycling in the home factsheet will remind you of all the simple ways you can live a greener life.
New Green Store for Tesco
April 25, 2006 at 10:28 am
Supermarket giant Tesco is going seriously green with the announcement of plans for the world’s most environmentally friendly store.
The store is to be built in Norfolk and will be constructed from recycled wood, plastic and other materials. It is not just the exterior of the store that will be green as they plan to generate energy from solar panels, wind turbines and geothermal power and aims to half its energy consumption by 2010 (compared with the energy use in 2000)
This new store is a costly project at £100 million but an important investment in terms of reducing emissions and conserving energy supplies and reducing ever increasing energy costs. Tesco have also noted that they aim to reduce carbon emmissions from their large network of distribution vehicles and also invest in more recycling schemes for customers. For more information on Tesco’s environment policies check their website.
Hopefully with such a huge brand like Tesco pioneering this kind of environmentally friendly development, other corporations will follow in their footsteps and invest some of their profits in greener a future.
Furniture Recycling Scheme Wins Award
March 14, 2006 at 2:35 am
An East London furniture recycling project has won a prestigious award at the Liveable City Awards. Homestore, who provide struggling families with low cost furniture won first prize in the awards which recognise and reward outstanding achievements in sustainable development, in relation to environment, economy and social issues.
The manager of Homestore gratefully accepted the award stating ‘”It’s a great honour because it’s a prestigious award and reflects how as an organisation both social aims and the environment are at the heart of our work.”
If you would like to find out more about the project or live in East London would like to donate any household goods to Homestore, then see their website here.
Fines for disorganised rubbish
March 13, 2006 at 3:54 pm
A number of councils have introduced fines for those households who throw items that could be recycled into their ordinary rubbish or who contaminate their recycling boxes or bags with ordinary household waste.
Councils are under pressure to reduce landfill waste and increase recycling so they are beginning to put pressure on households to recycle more and recycle properly.
The scheme seems to be working as since Barnet were the first council to introduce compulsory recycling backed by fines, recycling levels have increased from 17% to 29% in just two years. Many other councils have contacted them with interest, so you may see this scheme introduced near you.
Councils Reduce Rubbish Collections to Encourage Recycling
March 7, 2006 at 10:29 am
Many councils in Wales, either already have, or are planning to cut rubbish collections to once every 2 weeks rather than a weekly collection. This is to encourage recycling, with only one wheelie bin being emptied every fortnight but 2 recycling boxes emptied every week.
The local authorities have certain recycling targets to meet or they will be faced with fines. By 2007, 25% of all rubbish should be recycled and by 2010, 40 % of rubbish.
Many people are worried about collections being reduced to once a fortnight as they think that rubbish will become piled up and could create hygeine risks but the argument from Environmental group Friends of the Earth is that if households recycle more, their rubbish bags will be emptier and the bins will not get as full as quickly.
Where I live, recycling is made easy by the council, with one bin bag for all recyclable materials. This definiately reduces our rubbish with the bin never full on collection day. For tips on how to reduce your rubbish and recycle more check our handy tips section or print out our recycling guide to stick on the wall at home.
Cash for your Empties?
March 7, 2006 at 10:05 am
People in the UK may be unfamiliar with this concept and the idea of a ‘bottlebill’.
A bottlebill is a law which requires retailers to take a deposit for beer or soft drink bottles which is then refunded when the empties are returned to encourage a high rate of recycling.
The idea started back in the 50’s and was aimed at reducing costs for companies by producing less bottles and also to reduce the amount of rubbish in the waste stream.
Many US states and various European countries use this system but it doesn’t ever seem to have been implemented as a recycling method in the UK. Would it work if introduced? Would you take back your empties for cash?
For more infomation on bottlebills, take a look at www.bottlebill.org.
Great Success for Computer Recycling
February 24, 2006 at 12:50 pm
A massive 10,000 computers were recycled during 2005 by Gloucestershire based waste recycling company, Engelhard.
The company collect old IT equipment from companies, including computer towers, monitors, fax machines, calculators and telephones which are then taken apart and recycled as seperate materials such as steel, copper and precious metals.
Engelhard work with local courier services to collect equipment all across the UK, but the majority is collected locally and there is also a recycling bank at their head office for the public to drop off unwanted items.
They are aiming even higher this year with a target of recycling 50,000 computers.
There are many companies that deal with recycling computers and lots of options for recycling your home computer too. Search for you local site here selecting ‘office equipment’ and then ‘computers’.
Be Careful What You Throw Away
February 24, 2006 at 1:00 am
A man from North Finchley accidently threw out some important documents with his recycling which included his car registration documents, MOT certificate and insurance documents.
They were collected before he realised but got to ECT Recycling just in time the same day and the documents were retrieved and returned to the very grateful owner the next day.
