If you're looking for more inspiration while I'm off on hols, here's Mrs Green to keep you company, with her very first video shoot launched on YouTube this week. Go Mrs G! I hope this video makes it onto Gloucestershire's Zero Waste Week si...
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Some rubbish things to do
While I'm on my travels, here's an important announcement about some rubbish things that are coming up.Firstly the lovely Kate, who supported me through Bury St Edmunds' Zero Waste Week, is doing it all again. This time in Norfolk.Norfolk councils are teaming up to run the waste free week and are challenging everyone to reduce the amount of rubbish they throw away to nothing. Anyone who would like to join in will be encouraged to use only products that can be recycled, reused or composted, avoiding things going in the rubbish bin. The Waste Free Week is running from 27 October- 2 November. ...
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
What if your bin is just too slim?
Here I am trying to promote the idea of slimming those bins, but these ones look like a bit of a challenge. (I'm afraid you'll need to turn your head to see the real effect of how a slim looking bin can miraculously quadruple in size).Amazing eh, that an innocent looking bin can suddenly change into a bottomless pit...well almost!It's a good job these bins are in Zurich in Switzerland, one of the finest recycling cities in the world, as it gives me some faith that this amount of trash will be dealt with in the most appropriate manner.And if you don't believe me, did you see how neat the waste...
Monday, 28 July 2008
Considering Condiments
I tried to snap this photo without drawing attention to myself, but was spotted by two guys out of shot, who must have thought I was bonkers. Indeed, as my camera went "click" at the M25 Clacket Services on Sunday, one man nudged the other, tipped his head towards me, the other one turned his head and whispering conversations and laughter ensued.And there I was thinking I was being discreet.But what a rare sight for sore and weary eyes. As a frequent visitor to all kinds of catering establishments, it was a delight to see an alternative those nasty little things....which have been proliferating...
WRAP CEO thanks consumer campaigners whilst making a big announcement
Today was good news day as the Waste & Resources Action Programme WRAP, the agency which helps industry and consumers reduce waste and recycle more, announced that the amount of waste packaging in the UK grocery sector has halted despite increased sales in 2007.Hooray!New figures reported by The Telegraph show that there had been no increase in packaging used by supermarkets and high street stores since 2006 when results weighed in at 2.843 tonnes. This means that the industry has met the first target of the Courtauld Agreement which was set to design out packaging waste growth and can now...
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Nice day for a white wedding!
Meet Mr & Mrs H, the very happy newly-weds, whose lovely wedding we had the pleasure of attending this weekend.It was a beautiful day in Chichester. The sun was shining, the guests were happy and the champagne was flowing.The preparations made the day perfect and we were delighted to have witnessed the marriage of a very dear friend ...and doesn't she look gorgeous, smiling up at her Mr Right.It really was a wonderful day.But weddings eh!Such an occasion is a great opportunity for guests to dress up and splash out on a brand new outfit to look the part.On announcement of impending marriage...
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Hooray for Mr & Mrs Green and Gloucestershire
Ladies and Gentlemen, please stand up and give a huge round of applause for Mr & Mrs Green and Little Miss Green over in the Forest of Dean.Do you remember when I invited them to have a go at The Rubbish Diet at the beginning of May and they took their first steps towards slimming their bin? Mrs Green had been worrying about her rubbish, so I sent her off to do an audit of her bin.They began analysing their rubbish and weighing-in and finding solutions to cut down on their waste. They hunted down new recycling options and pondered new ideas at home. They looked at their weaknesses and played...
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Meet WALL-E
I fell in love with WALL-E as soon as I saw the movie trailer. So yesterday I took my six year old bin monitor to the cinema to see what this summer's animated blockbuster is all about.We had a great time, but rather than tell you all about it myself, I'll leave you in the hands of Little J, to give you his point-of-view.Who's WALL-E?He's a robot who lives on earth in a little shelter and has to clean up the planet all by himself. The planet was a mess. There were piles and piles and piles and piles and piles and piles and piles and piles and piles and piles and piles and piles of litter everywhere...
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
School's out for Summer! Waste-free tips for the holidays
So today marks the beginning of the summer holidays, with lots of fun, frolics and adventures to be had over the next six weeks......which means that battle will indeed commence in trying to keep the house as waste-free as possible....(sigh) all those temptations, kids' magazines, ice-creams and sweeties...what is a girl to do with two constantly hungry young lads on her hands with high testosterone levels?At least I had a practice run during half-term and will be reinforcing my plan in an attempt to keep the waste down over the summer.So, if you're in the same boat and are slap-bang in the middle...
Monday, 21 July 2008
Recycling School Friends - The Update
Remember my recent news about introducing recycling at our school fayre?Well the fayre went ahead at the weekend and true to my word I set up a recycling centre. It's a bit primitive looking I know, but it did the job and even survived the wind and the amazing heavy downpour of rain.With bags available for plastic cups and containers, plastic bags, cans, tetra paks, as well as paper and card, the system was generally quite effective.....especially as we saved this amount of "rubbish" from landfill....... leaving just two bags of real rubbish to put in the landfill bin.I did get some ribbing over...
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Colin Firth, Beefburgers and Cupcakes.
What a lucky girl I am. Not only have I got some great friends and family who have learned to accept (and seem to love) my madcap ideas, but I also get to see the gorgeous Colin Firth on my birthday. That's right, the actor Colin Firth in my very own living room on my 40th birthday.Okay, I may not have rubbed shoulders with the great man himself, but there he was smiling at me from the newspaper that had been used by my good friend Nigella to wrap my gorgeous birthday gifts.What a clever girl that Nigella is. She'd only gone and recycled last week's "Green" supplement of The Bury Free Press...
Thursday, 17 July 2008
My Birthday Compost Bin
Thank you to everyone for my birthday wishes. I had such a great time with Ruby in London celebrating the last day of my thirties. We wined, dined, bought recycled jewellery made from old cutlery and took photos of bins.Ooooh I know how to live.But to celebrate my birthday today I decided to treat myself to something really special........in the form of.....a new compost bin!For the last decade one compost bin has served us well.But to see us through the next decade I decided we needed a second.However this is no ordinary bin, as you'll see in the video below.To explore its other exceptional...
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Sentiments on turning 40
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF MY THIRTIESTomorrow my body clock will be ticking its way to 40, yes FORTY, with full chimes belting out at around 6pm in the evening. If you listen carefully you may hear them, even if you are as far away as Japan.40...eh!It's arrived.I knew it would.But like Christmas every year, it's crept up behind me and taken me by surprise.I wonder if this is when I graduate as a grown-up.Once the champagne has been devoured, maybe it will be time to roll up my sleeves, don my hat of responsibility and venture into adulthood.A destiny of practical gifts awaits. Socks here, shampoo...
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Pick Your Own
As I drove into the car park of the local farm shop to buy some fruit and veg, I saw the sign PYO.Yes "Pick Your Own Strawberries" it said.And this is how I was led down the path of temptation.Strawberry picking or going home to do the housework?Hmmmm. Not difficult.The housework could wait. The worst that would happen is chaos. If the strawberries aren't picked they'll go off and what a waste that would be. That was my excuse anyway, in the hope that Mr A would never use it as grounds for divorce.The excuse for the morning was school assembly and I can't remember what Monday's was now. It...
Recycling School Assembly
Phew. I'm back! Having walked the wheelie bin to school, yesterday, I've talked the talk at school assembly today...and survived.The children were great. We started off by letting them guess how much rubbish I had in my wheelie bin after six long weeks...and it was so exciting showing them how little there was...just one carrier bag full. There were gasps and wows. I could see my eldest boy, little J in the audience looking dead chuffed.I showed them this excellent video about a town in Japan that doesn't have bin lorries and where residents recycle everything by separating waste into 34...
Monday, 14 July 2008
Walking the wheelie bin
I hope the local paparazzi weren't out with their cameras last night.If so there will be photos knocking about of a mad old bird taking her wheelie bin for walk.That's right, you heard...a wheelie bin! Most people walk their dogs, there's a lady in town who walks her ferrets and I have known some people to walk their cats...but a wheelie bin! This is how folklore starts."Remember the lady who used to take her wheelie bin for a walk around the streets of Moreton Hall?""Yes...a jolly figure, who would wave at the passers by with one hand, and wheel with the other""Every Monday if I remember.""I...
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Carnival of Trash # 1
(Trash 'n' Fireworks photo: Credit Flickr's Yoppy) The Rubbish Diet is pleased to host the very first edition of Carnival of Trash and would like to thank all participants for their submissions. We've got everything from composting to recycling with poetry, art and letters, with lots of tips, all intent on highlighting the madness of waste.It's really great to get everyone together again and what a pleasure to be doing this in the week of my 40th birthday, which is coming up on Friday. Most people get a party for their birthday, but I get a brand new Carnival, which is why everyone's contributions...
Thursday, 10 July 2008
Recycling School Friends
I'm getting a bit of a reputation at my sons' school.I think it's the right reputation. However I can see why I could have given folk the wrong impression...having walked home from the school barbecue last month with a dozen empty wine bottles.I can see the curtains twitching now..."Look at her! How much has she had to drink? With two kids in tow as well. The poor husband".A Saturday night at home maybe, but certainly not at the school barbecue. I've got standards to keep you know.The bottles were the empties that I'd collected from an event which was run by The Friends committee, the fundraising...
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
A glamorous side to recycling
Writing about rubbish may give the impression that I'm always knee deep in trash, washing out containers here, composting there and sorting out maggots.Well yes, life is often spent washing out another tin of cat food or dropping off stuff at the recycling centre, which is why I feel it is really important to take a morning off, glam up and spend some time on little indulgences. So now and again I get out of the house and meet up with my writing partner in crime, the young Ruby of the Living in Bury St Edmunds blog.Once a week, we make ourselves comfortable in the lounge at the very glamorous...
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Talking Rubbish with Fran Crowe
Some of you may remember my excitement over the wonderful and thought-provoking exhibition that I visited at Landguard Fort in May, called Walking to Save Some Sea. If you missed it, click here to read my review .Well, here's some more excitement because I have managed to catch up with the Suffolk artist behind it, a lovely lady called Fran Crowe.After a couple of busy months, we finally managed to meet last week in the picturesque setting of Ipswich marina. And for two hours we chatted like a pair of old friends who hadn't seen each other for years. You would never have guessed we were strangers.And...
Travelling with Michael Palin
Yesterday I disappeared for another adventure in the Big Smoke. I know... I know... you can't keep the girl away from the bright lights!But when I set off from my provincial little town of Bury St Edmunds I hadn't quite expected that I would be travelling with Michael Palin.(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)It sounds so exciting doesn't it? The honour, the pleasure and a chance to muse over rubbish with a well-know globetrotter and much loved actor and writer.Except the globetrotter that I'm talking about is probably unknown outside the East of England and hardly travels much further than Cambridge...
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