As the UK looks to cut down on the quantity of products ending up in
landfill sites, Carpet Recycling UK has come up with a novel idea for
composting woollen carpets.
At present the idea is in its trial stage with Derbyshire-based
composters Vital Earth looking to see whether wool-fibre carpet can be
composted successfully. The idea of composting carpets marks a change of
focus on how best to recycle woollen carpets, with previous ideas
exploring its insulation value amongst other things.
The original idea seems to have come from research conducted in New
Zealand and, if the idea passes the trial stage, it has the potential to
divert at least 35% of carpet material that has come from domestic
waste towards composting to create a good quality fertiliser.
However, before the agricultural sector can look forward to the
benefits of carpet composting, the UK Environmental Agency wants
evidence that the carpet’s backing is biodegradable and will not cause
harm to the environment. As well as this, there are fears that chemicals
such as bleach that are used to treat fibres mean that the final
product may not pass the PAS 100 accreditation that would enable it to
be used as feedstock.
Despite this, the project can only be seen as a positive development
as the UK moves towards a more sustainable society and as such it has
received the support of the Environmental Agency. Whether the initial
trials are successful or not, Carpet Recycling UK can already be pleased
that their work is generating interest in carpet composting that was
previously unseen.
Tuesday 24 January 2012
Wednesday 18 January 2012
Recycle your Yellow Pages
Shropshire residents are being asked to recycle their old Yellow Pages, now that the new one has been delivered. Yellow Pages and all types of telephone directory can simply be placed in your kerbside recycling boxes along with your newspapers and magazines for collection, or taken to a paper recycling bank.
With each directory weighing around 1.7kg, this means more than 200 tonnes of waste paper will be generated by old Yellow Pages in Shropshire alone. All Yellow Pages are collected mixed with the rest of your paper and sent to Shotton Paper Mill near Chester, to make newspaper print.
Cllr. Mike Owen, cabinet member with responsibility for waste at Shropshire Council said, “recycling Yellow Pages is simple - just put them in your paper recycling box and then put it on the kerbside for collection. The plastic wrapper should be removed first. By recycling Yellow Pages we help support UK manufacturing as well as reducing the amount of waste which goes to landfill and thus protecting the environment."
NB - Across the whole of the UK more than 75 million phone books are left on the doorsteps of UK homes and businesses each year by Yellow Pages, BT and Thomson which results in a staggering 62,000 tonnes of waste paper every year. Recycling a tonne of paper saves around 3500 kWh - enough energy to power an average house for one year. So recycling phone books helps to reduce our carbon emissions as well as helping to reduce waste to landfill.
If you want you can opt out of delivery of phone books completely and use the web and telephone based services instead. Simply contact the companies and ask to be removed from their distribution lists. For more information visit http://www.saynotophonebooks.org/
With each directory weighing around 1.7kg, this means more than 200 tonnes of waste paper will be generated by old Yellow Pages in Shropshire alone. All Yellow Pages are collected mixed with the rest of your paper and sent to Shotton Paper Mill near Chester, to make newspaper print.
Cllr. Mike Owen, cabinet member with responsibility for waste at Shropshire Council said, “recycling Yellow Pages is simple - just put them in your paper recycling box and then put it on the kerbside for collection. The plastic wrapper should be removed first. By recycling Yellow Pages we help support UK manufacturing as well as reducing the amount of waste which goes to landfill and thus protecting the environment."
NB - Across the whole of the UK more than 75 million phone books are left on the doorsteps of UK homes and businesses each year by Yellow Pages, BT and Thomson which results in a staggering 62,000 tonnes of waste paper every year. Recycling a tonne of paper saves around 3500 kWh - enough energy to power an average house for one year. So recycling phone books helps to reduce our carbon emissions as well as helping to reduce waste to landfill.
If you want you can opt out of delivery of phone books completely and use the web and telephone based services instead. Simply contact the companies and ask to be removed from their distribution lists. For more information visit http://www.saynotophonebooks.org/
New Years Resolutions...
Breaking old habits….
It’s a brand new year…so time for breaking old habits and starting some new ones! The average household here in the UK can save around £50 a month, or £480 a year rising to £680 for families simply by not wasting our food and drink. It may seem daunting but taking a few simple steps can help us get the feel good factor back from our food. Better planning and portioning can help not only with wasting less but healthier eating too.
These are our top tips:
• Try to plan a weekly menu in advance when you have time and then take a list to the supermarket - it helps focus the shopping trip on just what you need, and makes it an awful lot quicker too.
• If you want to make the most of discounts in-store as a way of saving money, get into the routine of sticking the other half of the buy-one-get-one-free offer straight into the freezer which means it will last until you need it. With meat and fish simply divide it into freeze-able portions so you can use as much as you need as and when you want it.
• When it comes to cooking just the right amount of food at mealtimes, try to avoid the temptation of “one more for the pot” – often this portion ends up getting thrown away. Try letting everyone serve themselves so they can have as much as they need – then you can freeze the leftovers for another time or have them as a fantastic lunch the next day.
And finally, research shows that shopping day is bin day in most homes – 30% of fruit in the home gets thrown out on the day of the weekly shop because we forget to check what we already have so always remember to have a quick check before you leave home!
It’s a brand new year…so time for breaking old habits and starting some new ones! The average household here in the UK can save around £50 a month, or £480 a year rising to £680 for families simply by not wasting our food and drink. It may seem daunting but taking a few simple steps can help us get the feel good factor back from our food. Better planning and portioning can help not only with wasting less but healthier eating too.
These are our top tips:
• Try to plan a weekly menu in advance when you have time and then take a list to the supermarket - it helps focus the shopping trip on just what you need, and makes it an awful lot quicker too.
• If you want to make the most of discounts in-store as a way of saving money, get into the routine of sticking the other half of the buy-one-get-one-free offer straight into the freezer which means it will last until you need it. With meat and fish simply divide it into freeze-able portions so you can use as much as you need as and when you want it.
• When it comes to cooking just the right amount of food at mealtimes, try to avoid the temptation of “one more for the pot” – often this portion ends up getting thrown away. Try letting everyone serve themselves so they can have as much as they need – then you can freeze the leftovers for another time or have them as a fantastic lunch the next day.
And finally, research shows that shopping day is bin day in most homes – 30% of fruit in the home gets thrown out on the day of the weekly shop because we forget to check what we already have so always remember to have a quick check before you leave home!
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Veolia Volunteers
Volunteers from local recycling firm Veolia have been helping maintain the grounds of the historic Shrewsbury Castle.
One of the volunteers, Phil Hartshorn said: “I usually spend my day driving the refuse vehicle around the town so this has made a nice change. I think it’s great that my employer, Veolia, gives us the time off to help out in the local community.”
Shrewsbury Town Council had been trying to get something done about the trees opposite the Mayor's Parlour at the Castle for several years and finally received planning consent last month to remove them.
The volunteering is part of Veolia half day volunteering scheme where employees are encouraged to give something back to the local community. All 12,000 staff who work for Veolia across the UK can spend a half day working in the local community or for a charitable organisation of their choice. This amounts to 6,000 days each year across the whole company.
All the horticultural waste generated over the course of the day was taken to the Town Councils site in Meole Brace Shrewsbury for composting and chipping and thus will ultimately be re-used on public parks around the town.
Wednesday 11 January 2012
Recycle your Christmas tree
Did you know? In the UK we get through 8 million real Christmas trees every year! As such by my estimate that means there are around 40,000 dead Christmas trees left over in the Shropshire Council area alone. Please don't let them go to waste.
You can recycle real Christmas trees simply by putting them out for collection along with your garden waste or by taking them to your local Household Recycling Centre (HRC). All real Christmas trees collected will be 'recycled' (actually they get sent for composting) and turned into valuable soil improver for local farmers.
Top tips
•Make sure you put the tree out on the correct day for your garden waste collection.
•If you can please try to get the tree into your garden waste bin.
•If you cannot, you may leave the tree next to your garden waste bin.
•To help the crews please cut trees down to a maximum 5 foot (1.5m) lengths.
•Please make sure you remove any tinsel and other decorations first.
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