Blogger let loose for Recycle Week

So what's all it about then, this pledge of mine for Recycle Week?

To help others in my community waste less.

It sounds simple doesn't it, especially when you say it quickly. But what does it really mean?


Well I made some tentative steps yesterday by tagging some members of my British Mummy Bloggers community to help raise awareness of Recycle Week. And thanks to the lovely bloggers involved, they in turn have already tagged 15 other people, so hopefully that'll be a few more promises in Recycle Now's pledgebank by the end of today and hopefully even more will make their pledge tomorrow.

But do I stop there and just let the pledges automatically stack up?

Oh no...that would be far too easy for a someone such as me who likes nothing better than a challenge.


Choosing the pledge

I admit that when I was I invited on board as a featured blogger for Recycle Week, I pondered the list of pledges available and truly felt stuck! It was like dragging myself out of a quagmire, going this way and that deciding what I should pledge.

I already do all those things on the list of suggestions, even taking my bottles home with me if a bar or cafe doesn't recycle them. Better to take them to the recycling bank than let them get buried in landfill, I'd say.

Since last year's Zero Waste Week, we still have waste-free days and we've reduced, reused and recycled so much our rubbish amounts to just one carrier bag's worth, which is the equivalent of putting out a wheelie bin about once a year.

So hopefully you can see my predicament.

So for me it was a question of "How else could I support this year's theme of let's waste less?"

And that's when I had my light bulb moment, when I thought that as well as making a simple pledge on the Recycle Now website I could also put all my networks to good use, encouraging and enabling lots of other people to work together to also waste less during Recycle Week.

Community thinking

It wasn't a flash of inspiration, you'll understand. At my age it was more like the gradual glow given off by an energy-saving light bulb, steady but optimistic.

But I'm not an evangelist or an eco-warrior, so this challenge would never be about approaching people and quizzing them about their recycling habits and convincing them to do more in a direct way.

However I write for a local magazine, I'm a governor of a local primary school and I have a good relationship with our council and I wondered how this could benefit the community. Having been inspired by the efforts that have been made by residents in St Arvans, Monmouthshire, and more recently in Wenhaston, Suffolk, I thought it would be great to encourage all the people I know to work together to reach out to my local community in Moreton Hall, which is in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

But with so many messages about recycling, the first step was to find a simple pledge that most people could make.


What could we save from landfill?

We are very lucky in Moreton Hall as householders can recycle almost anything locally. Our local council, St Edmundsbury, is able to collect mixed plastics, as well as paper, cans, cardboard, foil and batteries. We also have a household composting collection and a glass bring bank is located in the centre of estate and at our local local supermarket, where we can also recycle clothing, shoes, books and carrier bags.

In fact, residents are great at the old recycling lark. Our dry recycling collection alone amounts to roughly 31% of our residential waste and that's before you consider compostable materials.



But as you know, there's always room for improvement and having spoken with fellow residents over the last 12 months, I've noticed the one thing that catches out many folk is the good old Drinks Carton. In fact there was a time when I didn't know what to do with them either.



We can actually recycle cartons in Bury St Edmunds. In fact if you look at the Tetra Pak bank locator and navigate to St Edmundsbury in Suffolk, you'll see our nearest banks are at Waitrose and the Rougham Hill HWRC, the latter of which is about a mile away from the centre of Moreton Hall.

However, while many people are aware of these facilities a lot of others aren't, and those who are aware don't always have access because of lack of time or even transport. Others assume they can be recycled in the blue bin collection, while many other people will put them in the landfill bin.

With so many misunderstandings over the fate of the carton, it seemed like a good candidate for profiling the Recycle Week message locally.

Getting the preparations underway!

So while many folk might be pondering their Recycle Week plans now, mine started about a month ago.

The first step was to speak to the local councils to see if arrangements could be put in place to support the carton idea. And the good news was that they were able to provide a temporary bin for Recycle Week at my sons' school AND at the community centre.

This was indeed fantastic news, because if next week is successful, it will save me having to cart several car loads to the local recycling centre. In fact the bins will be delivered on Monday, courtesy of St Edmundsbury Borough Council.

The next challenge has been to get community groups involved. This was a toughie because it meant approaching people with whom I've never spoken before. If it went the wrong way, there was risk I would get the reputation as the mad woman of Moreton Hall. I've already got a cat with one eye and I could see it had potential to become a legend of its own making.

However, I had nothing to fear because everyone was enthusiastic to get involved in the local Recycle Week project and have been busy putting their own plans into place to collect cartons to fill the temporary recycling bins.

Finally, there was the issue of communications. However, being a regular contributor to a local magazine called the MHD, I was able to work with the editor to announce the project to residents of Moreton Hall in a double-page splash. Here's the front cover promoting the news.




The fact that it goes to 2500 households means that hopefully it's a positive start. Here's the article in its full glory (click on it to enlarge it).





So who's getting involved next week?

Well it certainly seems a case of all hands on deck.

As well as residents being invited to drop off their cartons at the communal bin, the two primary schools, Abbots Green and Sebert Wood are organising carton collections, which will help support their eco-school plans. The Moreton Hall Prep School is also organising a collection as are the local church and the youth club. One of the Beaver clubs outside the local catchment is getting involved too and the community centre and post office will also be promoting the event by displaying posters and leaflets. It's great that everyone is enthusiastic about this project and I'd like to thank them for being a part it.

But it doesn't stop there, although the major preparations are now in place for next week, I've got my eye on a few candidates who I've not yet approached, but plan to very soon. And I've got some other ideas up my sleeve too. Of course there is also time for anyone else in the community to get involved and I would be delighted to welcome them on board.

In the meantime, I'm off to a WRAP waste industry conference tomorrow to find out the latest news in mixed plastics recycling. Shhh, don't tell them that a blogger has been let loose amongst the professionals will you? They might wonder what I'm up to.

So I guess that leaves me with just one last question to ask...yay you know I'm cheeky don't you!


________________________________________________________

Read more ►

British Mummy Bloggers do Recycle Week

Well the Recycle Week plans are about to kick off big-style.

And with exactly one week to go until Recycle Now's big campaign week, I am roping in the help of some of my old blogging friends over at the British Mummy Bloggers network. Well I did pledge that as well as recycling cartons, I would also make it easier for those in my community to waste less and that includes my online community too.

Not many people may know this (ok, that probably means the rest of the world), but before I started blogging about rubbish I was a 100% mummy blogger. These days I suppose I am more of a Mummy Garblogger, juggling the constant demands of the kids with one hand whilst promoting rubbish reducing strategies with the other.

These days my life is often reminiscent of a micro civil war, with the cry of "Mummy, I want, I want, I want" being called from the battlefields, met by the defiance of "Not on your nelly" being launched from an inner stronghold - located somewhere behind the much battered defences, normally known as the recycling bin.

Anyway, I pledged I'd make it easier for folk to waste less and I thought there'd be no better place to start than to spread the word about Recycle Week amongst the British Mummy Blogger network whose talented members are always up for supporting a good cause. Who knows, maybe I can turn them into Mummy Garbloggers too.

So today I am launching a new meme tag, with the challenge to see how many of the 300-or-so BMB members can sign up to a Recycle Week pledge over the next two weeks as well as blog about it!

And the rules are easy:

1. Visit www.recyclenow.com and sign up to one of the pledges to waste less.

2. Share details of your pledge on your own blog.

3. Chose five other bloggers, who will also be up for a bit of recycling fun.

4. Come back to this post at The Rubbish Diet and share your pledge with others, by placing a link to your pledge in the comments field.

5. Optional - as a thank you to all involved The Rubbish Diet will be publishing a British Mummy Bloggers' Recycle Week carnival on Monday 29th June. To be included, simply submit your favourite post revealing the progress of your pledge by Saturday 27th June - email to karen[at]therubbishdiet[dot]co[dot]uk.

I've never launched a blog tag before, so the truth is, this is quite a daunting experience. How many bloggers will take up the Recycle Week pledge and how will they get on?

But with pledges that are as easy as "looking for new recycling labels when going shopping" to more tricky ones such as attempting a "Rubbish-free day", there is something for everyone to get their teeth into. And I expect there will be some funny tales too.

So, to kick off the British Mummy Bloggers' Recycle Week tag, I have the pleasure of tagging five fabulous bloggers, who I think will be up for a recycling challenge.

1. Susanna at A Modern Mother, who not only is fantastic at PR, but is a wonderful creative writer AND is also the founder of the British Mummy Blogger network in the UK. I admit this tag is a bit of a cheat because she has already made her own pledge, which you can find about here.

2. Rosie from Rosie Scribble, a wonderful writer and old blogging buddy who tells the funniest of tales about motherhood and friendships.

3. The fabulous and thrifty Nixdminx, who I know will tackle the mission in a stylish and urbanite way and will have us laughing all the way to the recycling bank.

4. Liz, author of the most beautful blog Violet Posy. She's almost a blogging neighbour, she lives that close. Well, half an hour's train ride to Ely. Who knows, maybe we will finally make it for coffee.

5. And of course Jo, as in the talented Jo Beaufoix who signed up to The Rubbish Diet treatment last year and managed to cut her rubbish in half. I can't wait to see what she does this time for Recycle Week.

So while I leave it to this fabulous group to share the recycling love around the online community, I have got my work cut out figuring out my final plans to help reduce waste in my local community. Do drop by later this week to find out more about what else I'm up to.

And don't forget, if you're a mummy or indeed a dad who blogs (yes, despite the name, men are welcome too) why not join the British Mummy Bloggers network, where there are plenty of opportunities to join in with reviews, PR opportunities and sponsored get-togethers. For more details visit britishmummybloggers.ning.com.

And for those readers who are not part of the BMB network but would like to promote the benefits of Recycle Week, why not launch your own blog tag through your regular network of bloggers and find out what other people are up to.
____________________________________________________

Read more ►

LET's WASTE LESS: Recycle Week News

If you're a fan of reducing waste, you'll just love what's coming up, courtesy of WRAP's Recycle Now team.

Yes, it's that time of year again when folk all over the land will be taking part in Recycle Week, a national campaign which starts on 22nd June and which encourages people to take a few minutes out from their busy schedules to think about very simple ways to reduce their rubbish even more.

This year the theme is LET'S WASTE LESS and whether you're a commited recycler or just a beginner, Recycle Week is inviting you to take a pledge on its website to reduce, reuse or recycle just one more thing. All you need to do, is visit www.recyclenow.com and select from a list of easy options.

Now there is a twist in this year's campaign. As well as including pledges from eco-celebrities, Recycle Week has also pulled together a team of bloggers who will be documenting their own challenges and very soon the Recycle Now website will include links to all the blogs that are taking part.

And you'll probably recognise a few of them, including Mrs Green, Green Pepper and BeMoreEco. So to find out what they're up to, keep popping by the campaign website for the latest links.

And I'll be taking part too. As well as committing to recycling my cartons, I've also pledged to make it easier for those in my community to waste less too.

Well a daily update on how I've washed and squashed my cartons would have been a bit repetitive wouldn't it? So, to avoid carton Groundhog Day, I'm moving away from my comfort zone and will be recycling my enthusiasm in both my local and online communities. There'll be more on all that soon, starting tomorrow, so watch this space.

In the meantime, why don't you join in and make your own pledge over at www.recyclenow.com. It's really easy and fun too. And I'd love to know what you've pledged to do, and what you've chosen as your forfeit (wink wink...I said it was fun didn't I).

Now did anyone spot what my forfeit is?

I've included a link to it somewhere in this post.

But trust me, literally speaking, you wouldn't want to hear it really...

...really, you wouldn't.

__________________________________________________

Read more ►

Fancy a refill old bean?

Thanks to blog reader and fellow tweeter Mrs B in York for some fabulous news that's hit the press today.

According to The Telegraph, as part of Hilary Benn's new war on waste, the government is considering plans to encourage shoppers to reuse containers in a bid to reduce the amount of packaging that ends up in landfill.

Now that's music to my ears. Perhaps I should take out some shares in Tupperware, while I've got the chance.

One thing's for sure, there'll be a few happy folk around here. Good to think that taking your containers to the supermarket will one day become the norm eh!

More details can be found in the Telegraph article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/greenerliving/5490197/Shoppers-to-get-coffee-jar-refills-at-supermarket.html

_____________________________________________________

Read more ►

New war on waste in the UK

Only two weeks before the beginning of WRAP's Recycle Week campaign - where the theme is LET'S WASTE LESS - things are beginning to really hot up in the world of waste in a huge bid to divert millions of tonnes of rubbish from landfill by turning it into a valuable resource.

What's more, news of these significant developments is hitting the mainstream media with positive stories about new government strategies, examples of successful local solutions and enthusiastic responses from the public.

Take today for instance, with the Independent on Sunday featuring the Government's radical plans to cut the levels of rubbish in the UK. In the double-page feature "Kitchen bin war: tackling the food waste mountain" reporter Rachel Shields revealed that Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for the Environment, will this Tuesday announce some key developments in waste management.

One major step is to dispose of the "best before" labelling, which is blamed for causing confusion and making consumers over-cautious about using up food beyond the printed dates, therefore rendering perfectly good produce being sent to landfill. According to the report 53% of consumers would never eat fresh fruit and vegetables past the best before date, so its removal would be a step in the right direction, allowing them to focus on the more significant "use by" dates.

As well as changes to labelling, the Government is also expected to reveal plans to introduce new packaging sizes, increase glass collection from pubs, clubs and restaurants and expand "on-the-go" recycling provision for aluminium cans.

However amongst all this excitement, perhaps the biggest news is the Government's £10 million investment in five anaerobic digestion plants, which will compost food waste, creating both a source of electricity for homes and fertiliser for the agricultural sector.

The benefits of anaerobic digestion technologies were indeed featured on tonight's BBC Countryfile program, illustrating how food waste is managed in Ludlow, Shropshire. Presenter John Craven demonstrated how the foodbags from the council's separate collection are shredded and fed into a tank where it ferments to create methane gas. The gas is harvested using British designed technology and recycled as an energy source to power 300 homes, while nitrogen, the other by-product, is sold as fertiliser to farms.

In his report, Craven also interviewed Kim Nicholas, a local resident who supports the weekly food waste collection scheme. Responding to his question that it might be a hassle to manage a separate bin for food, she confirmed that it was no trouble at all. Furthermore, she happily related that the separate collection has made it possible for her to visualise how much food was being wasted. As a consequence she has taken steps to reduce it, a move that has saved around £30 per week in her family's grocery bills. If other consumers share this experience, this will be good news for the Government. Indeed, during the programme Philip Ward from WRAP confirmed that it is nine times better for the environment if we manage our food better and make more effective use of our leftovers.

Of course it's not just consumers who are responsible for food waste in landfill. Supermarkets have a significant role to play too, which is why it is very good news that Sainsbury's has purchased a share in the anaerobic digestion sector with plans to divert 56,000 tonnes of food waste from landfill per annum. This follows the recent announcement that Marks and Spencer has contracted waste management company Shanks to process surplus waste from its 600 stores.

As well as witnessing significant strides towards managing the targets dictated by the EU's Landfill Directive, it's great to see such positive news being heavily featured in the mainstream media, especially following the negative press that often gets stirred up.

Hopefully with feel-good stories such as those reported this weekend, this could be the start of further social and behavioural change thanks to greater public awareness and wider acceptance, complementing new opportunities presented by technological developments in the waste management sector.

It's certainly worked for me. Eighteen months ago my family created such a level of food waste that it is now unthinkable. But thanks to a greater awareness, these days we hardly have any at all and any waste that is created is eventually converted into compost using our very own Bokashi bin, a home-based solution which I discovered just over a year ago.

So I really think this week's announcements will be a great turning point for the UK. Now that I've calmed down from our recent swimming incident, I just need to bring my four year-old bin saboteur up-to-speed on the news and work on the remnants of his food waste even further. I hope that by the end of this year, we will even dispense with the Bokashi bin entirely if all goes to plan.

In the meantime, I have some major plans underway to support Recycle Week, which starts on 22nd June. More information about what I'm up to will be available soon. However, if you'd like to join in with the fun and games and make a pledge to waste less, pop over to www.recyclenow.com for details on how you can get involved.

I rather like the pledge that's featured on the site. Written by Andrew from Cambridge, it says "I should be made to wear something outrageous to do the gardening in if I do not squash and recycle all my cartons." That's him not me, of course.

But if my husband's looking in all I can say is with ideas like that Mr A had certainly better watch out. I'll most definitely be after him to join in with his own war on waste and I quite fancy the idea of getting him to wear something outrageous when he next weeds the garden. So watch this space. Who knows what will happen in what is still the Almost Average household.

_________________________________________________________

Read more ►

Swimming in circles

This morning I feel numb. In truth I've been feeling like this for days, pretending everything is normal when really I just want to hide myself from the rest of the world and sit down and cry.

Everything's fine and I know that, which is why I don't understand my muddle. Likewise, I don't feel like blogging, but at the same time if I don't let these words flow out I'll drive myself mad.

So please forgive me while I use today's blog as my therapy couch.

I said everything's fine. It really is and for this I feel truly lucky.

But on Monday, something happened that I've not experienced before.

It was danger and the body-numbing effect that a parent experiences when it happens before their very eyes.

We'd been invited to a friend's house for an after-school swim, which was a happy occasion enjoyed by all on what was a beautiful sunny day. My eldest boy is a confident swimmer, where my youngest, who's almost five, needs buoyancy aids. He spent most of the time in the pool with armbands but towards the end he wanted to practice with floats instead - all in the shallow end, under my watchful eye.

Everything was fine until the announcement came that our host had served tea. Both boys got out of the pool along with the other children and we all walked to the spot near the poolside where I had left the towels, my youngest walking alongside me all the way, while the eldest approached from the other side.

As I reached for the towels to dry off my children, I heard a splash. My youngest boy who had been at my side had suddenly turned and jumped back into the pool to join a friend who hadn't yet climbed out.

But it was the deep end.

And with no bouyancy aid he soon began to struggle. There was no time to rely on hope that his attempts at the doggy-paddle would lead him back to the edge. Very quickly I could see him going under.

Fully clothed, I did what any other parent would do and jumped in. As I write, I can still feel the warmth of the water surrounding my own body, submerged below the surface. I can also feel the urgency of lifting him above the surface and the relief as a friend pulled him back to the poolside.

All over within seconds and all safe and sound.

I should be happy and relieved, and yes I am. We were lucky. My intrepid diver did not swallow the water and didn't suffer any breathing difficulties. My quick reactions made sure that didn't happen.

We are indeed both okay.

But despite this, my emotions have been swimming in circles ever since. Every day I wake up with images of him struggling to swim and very day I thank my lucky stars that I was there and that I dived in just in time. I relive both the panic and the relief. But I also tell myself off for turning around for what I know was just a split second. It reminds me what could have happened and that makes me feel numb. If I hadn't turned to get the towels, he wouldn't have jumped back in. If he'd kept his arm-bands on, he wouldn't have struggled. It all goes through my mind. Grateful and sorrowful feelings marching through my thoughts arm-in-arm.

Of course, while I remain immersed in my thoughts, pretending that everything is normal when it really isn't, he doesn't seem to be affected by the incident at all. He was the first to tell me off for jumping into a swimming pool with my clothes on. And when I pulled my mobile phone out of my jeans pocket, he told me I was silly to get it drenched in the water.

That phone is still drying out in the airing cupboard in the hope it will work again, a daily reminder of what happened.

I've since used it to explain that gadgets and belongings are replaceable, while precious human life is not. I think it's helped him to understand why people both young and old have to take care and the importance of protecting the fragility of life, our own as well as that of others.

This was one incident, that was over in a flash and thankfully had a happy ending. As a parent, I know there will be others and I will face those as they arise.

So having let these words fall from my fingers, I now feel better and can only thank you for being my virtual therapists and listening to my thoughts.

I now feel able to move on and in my muddly own way to be able to get on with those things that I've avoided over the last few days, while I've been immersed in my confused emotions. So while I tend to that ever-increasing list, I promise I'll be back soon to resume normal service.

___________________________________________________

Read more ►

Save your energy darling!

Snoozing away on Friday morning, I felt an arm resting on my hip, followed by a kiss on my temple.

"You should save your energy darling!" I said. "You'll need to now that you're 40!"

And right on cue, the door burst open. Our two little boys bursting into song with a somewhat untuneful rendition of "Happy Birthday To You" filling the air with celebration.

"Happy birthday Daddy", beamed our eldest, as he handed over their gift.

"Now you're old, you need to save your energy." they said, as he untied the fabric wrapping.

By now there was most definitely a theme occuring. He was getting suspicious that something was afoot, while I was desparately hoping that he would not be disappointed with his present.

But before he managed to unwrap it, our little bin defender tripped over his words, and couldn't explain it fast enough....

"It's a thing that you plug into the electricity and tells you how much energy you're using and reminds you to turn things off."

"That's brilliant." came the reply, coinciding with the box being opened to reveal all its contents. "I've wanted one of those for ages."

Phew. The relief that an electricity monitor - all be it a snazzy one - could have been such a successful gift.

It was indeed a great start to the birthday celebrations that continued all weekend.

And yes, before you ask...we have played the game of turning on all the lights and watching the display go up and up and up and then turning everything off and seeing the numbers go back down and down and down. And we've been surprised at the difference it makes just by turning off a few halogen bulbs.

But if you think this present is to keep Mr A on his toes...trust me...it's not.

Remember, information is power. And now that he's in full command of such information, he can watch my every move. From his new control centre he's been busy keeping me on my toes, constantly demanding that I turn off the light in the downstairs loo and switch off the TV while I'm working on my laptop.

Blimmin' 'eck, I think I'm now officially on a low carbon diet as well as a rubbish diet.

At least now the celebrations are over, he's back to work where he can't keep an eye on me....unless he wants to monitor the historic data that is.

Well, just in case Mr A is looking in, the official line is that all the lights are now off and our house is currently using just 263 watts. Once I turn off my laptop we'll save another 30.

However when I load up the washing machine with the next round of pants, that'll be a different story! Just watch it spin out of control during the washing cycle.

So happy birthday Mr A. By the time you've got to 41, we should save some more money as well as energy. After all, we're both getting on now and with our retirement to consider, it's a good job we've started now!

______________________________________________________

Of course if you're the efficient type - unlike disorganised and forgetful old me - you don't need an electricity monitor to remind you to turn things off. You can just save money by simply remembering to flick the switch.

______________________________________________________

Read more ►