Potato Day - Montford (near Shrewsbury)

Shropshire Organic Gardeners Potato Day February 9th 2013


Volunteers from Shropshire Master Composters will be promoting home composting at the forthcoming Shropshire Organic Gardeners annual Potato Day event at
Montford Village Hall (NOTE - new venue from 2012)

Sat Nav - SY4 1AD (or see map at bottom of page)

The event will be held from 9am till 3pm, and includes a variety of gardening related stalls
in particular potatoes of course but there will also be a huge range of vegetable seeds, onion sets, shallots and garlic on sale plus fruit trees, bushes and plants and herbs too.

The event is completely free admission, and there will be stands serving (potato themed) breakfasts and lunches.

Plenty of coffee and cake (and free home composting advice) is also available all day.

Why should I recycle?

This may seem obvious to us but when we're out promoting composting and recycling with Shropshire Master Composters some times people actually challenge us as to why we should recycle at all.  To which of course we say it is absolutely vital that everyone recycles absolutely everything that they possibly can.  It may not seem much for each household to recycle a few cans or bottles but there are about half a million people across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and so together we create thousands of tonnes of waste and as they say 'every little helps'. 

Fortunately this sort of query is a rarity and audits have shown that around 75% of Shropshire's residents regularly recycle which is good news, but its really important that we all recycle as much as possible.  But we have come up with a few good reasons to recycle.

1. Recycling is easy

Alot of people have gone to a huge effort to provide people with recycling collection services. So all you have to do is put the recycling out for collection on the right day and its all done for you. Once you get into the habit its really not much effort for everyone to use these services.

2. Recycling is green

If you don't recycle it means more of the earths resources will get used up making new products. Recycling also reduces the need for landfill sites which can be polluting.

3. Recycling creates jobs

Sorting recycling is a labour intensive process and as such research has shown that recycling creates ten times more jobs than landfilling waste does.

4. Recycling saves energy

Using recycled material instead of new saves energy e.g. recycling aluminium cans uses 20 times less energy than making cans from the raw material.

5. Recycling saves CO2

The UK’s current recycling activities save over 15 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year. That's the same as 10% of all emissions from the transport sector - so its like taking 3.5 million cars off the road!

6. Recycling saves money

Landfilling waste is very expensive and so if we don't recycle more it increases the cost of waste management - not a good use of public spending. 

7. Recycling helps the economy

Your recycling provides material for UK industry to make new things. Recycling supports high tech and manufacturing businesses which are especially important to the UK economy.

Evergreen gas

Evergreen Gas is a British engineering company based right here in Shropshire established to develop modular small-scale renewable energy anaerobic digestion plants for farms and communities. This is in response both to government policy and to market demand which appears keen to see smaller AD plants developed. The Evergreen Gas design is radical and will look unlike the traditional AD plants which we are used to seeing.

 
They have developed a range of small scale AD plants based on electricity outputs ranging from just 25kW to 250kW.  

They are building a pilot-prototype, known as BMAD (Barrett’s Mill Anaerobic Digester), in South Shropshire to test the concept and to carry out research into optimising performance. This pilot construction should be complete by the end of 2012.

BMAD will be used not only as a pilot AD plant but also for demonstrating the feasibility of small-scale biogas upgrade for vehicle use. To this end Evergreen Gas has already purchased the first of its VW Caddy Ecofuel CNG vans to use as the Company Vehicle.

You can follow progress on BMAD and other projects via their on-line monthly report 

Market Drayton Grow Your Own Event

Re-using old bananas

Bananas are the best selling fruit in the UK.  We eat tonnes of them every year, but sadly we also bin tonnes too!  Its tragic that people throw bananas away just because they are going a bit black.  They can still be eaten and that should always be our first priority to use up edible food for what it was intended for - eating!  Our top tip then is to use over ripe bananas for making banana bread, banana cake or smoothies.  Here is our favourite such recipe from those nice folk at Love Food Hate Waste
http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes/banana-and-walnut-bread  If you cannot eat them however - here are some querky ideas to try to keep them out of landfill.


1. Teeth whitener: Rub your teeth for two minutes with a banana peel every time you brush and they will be pearly white.

2. Medicine: Rubbing some banana peel on the area of an insect bite can help alleviate the itch.

3. Bird feeder: If you enjoy watching birds and want to help them through the winter you dont need to buy in special bird food, they really like banana skins.

4. Conditioner: One of the best conditioners money can buy has just one single ingredient - simply – ripe bananas!

5. Anti-wrinkle mask: Avoid buying expensive and chemical laden face masks just rub blacken old bananas on your face three times a week and you’ll soon see the results in younger looking skin.

6. Shoe polish: no need to buy chemical cleaners, simply rub banana peels on the surface and then buff off when a soft cloth.

7. Compost!  Of course you can add bananas and banana peel to your compost heap and it breaks down really well and adds Nitrogen to the compost.

All these are great tips to use up banana peel but remember its important not to waste food in the first place, so visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for tips to ensure food doesnt get wasted in the first place.

 

Half of global food production never gets eaten

Half of the food produced in the world is thrown away every year even before it reaches a human mouth, says a new research by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME). Alarmingly, around two billion tonnes of the world’s produce goes as waste every year, caused by poor infrastructure and storage facilities, over-strict sell-by dates, “get-one-free” offers, and finickiness of consumer.

Each year countries across the world produce four billion tonnes of food, but between 30-50% of this food never gets eaten, claims the IME’s ‘Global Food; Waste Not, Want Not’ report. In the UK, up to 30% of vegetable crops are not harvested because of their cosmetic imperfections, meaning they do not meet the consumers’ expectations of ‘good-looking’ food. The report says that half of the food bought in the UK and the US is thrown away before consumption.


On top of this we know that UK consumers throw away about 7 million tonnes of food waste each year so there is clearly huge scope for improvements in the entire system from farm to fork and this can save us all money and reduce the environmental impacts associated too.

Read the full report here http://www.imeche.org/Libraries/Reports/IMechE_Global_Food_Report.sflb.ashx 

What to do with old Yellow Pages

Its that time of year again - when the streets of Shropshire are awash with shrink wrapped Yellow Pages left on every doorstep of every home and business in the county!

Of course you can tear the old one up into pieces (if you are super strong) and compost it at home no problem.  They rot down really well and produce good quality compost if mixed with green garden waste and fruit and vegetable peelings.

Of course a slightly easier option is being plugged by the local councils who are encouraging people to recycle them in the kerbside recycling boxes along with your newspaper and magazines. 

Of course the best thing to do environmentally speaking though is to avoid all this unnecessary waste in the first place. Just use the websites instead!  To do your bit for the environment simply contact the companies and ask to be removed from their distribution lists.  For more information visit www.saynotophonebooks.org

Shropshire waste transformed into award winning eco friendly compost

Vital Earth RSPB Compost Named Product of the Year

Ashbourne-based peat-free compost manufacturer, Vital Earth, whose products are made from recycled garden waste from Councils around the country, including garden waste and food waste collected from the former North Shropshire District Council area, has won the gold award in the Garden Fertilisers / Chemicals category at the DIY Week Product of the Year Awards with its RSPB No Peat Multipurpose compost. Launched to consumers in the spring, RSPB compost was developed in house at the purpose-built Airfield Industrial Estate site and tested in depth via consumer focus groups to prove its effectiveness and saleability.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds endorsed it as wildlife friendly and perfect for protecting the environment. The product is listed nationally in garden centres and in multiples like The Range and the quirky, colourful presentation together with the RSPB backing are appealing to both established gardeners and younger enthusiasts alike. RSPB Multi Purpose ‘no peat’ compost comes in a 50 litre bag with an RRP of £5.99.

The product is made from recycled garden waste, thoroughly sanitized via Vital Earth’s patented in vessel process and blended with a diluent of FSC bark. Being 100% peat-free, British, sustainable and wildlife-friendly, it is an ideal product for a wide range of gardening activities, including seed sowing, potting and planting up containers.

Commenting on the award, sales and marketing manager, Maryanne Stokes, “We’re thrilled to see that a product that was created by our own team, researched so well and enjoyed such a lot of consumer input, has come good in practice.

We were very confident in the green credentials and the excellent presentation and we knew already the sales - and the sell-through - were fantastic, but an award like this shows that RSPB compost really is a winner.”

Compost Converters

The compost converter is the most popular and wide selling compost bin in the UK with over 2 million distributed through the goverment subsidised home composting programme between 2006 and 2008.

They are designed and manufactured by Leeds based plastics manufacturers Straight PLC.  Recently voted best "BUDGET BUY" in the December 2012 issue of Gardeners' World Magazine.

The compost converter quickly and easily recycles organic and kitchen waste into a rich, nutritious compost that is ideal for retaining moisture in the garden. Fitted with an extra wide hatch for easy access to finished compost.  Needs no assembly and is easy to use.

They are available in a 220 Litre or a 330 Litre version and they can be manufactured in green or black to suit.   They are made with recycled plastic content and are designed to be a perfect entry level composter to get people started with home composting.

They are no longer subsidised by the government but they are still available at a special discount for residents in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.   And they deliver direct to your door.

To buy yours today visit www.shropshire.getcomposting.com

Ludlow Cardboard Recycling Project

Hundreds of Ludlovians brought their cardboard to our Cardboard Christmas’s collection points in Ludlow last Saturday.  More than 3 tonnes of cardboard was collected, raising money for charity and sending a strong message to Shropshire Council that recycling of kerbside separated cardboard needs to be reinstated. We’d like to thank everyone who joined in or supported the event.


At South Shropshire Furniture Scheme (SSFS), the Ludlow Cardboard Christmas point, we had 8 volunteers in high-visibility jackets, taking between 3 and 4 tonnes of cardboard from over 40 cars (many bringing from a number of households), black taxis, vans plus a number of pedestrians.

Ludlow Cardboard Christmas was promoted by posters, on websites, photographs, on the radio (Eric Smith of BBC Radio Shropshire interviewed Alan Stewart), by press release and by word of mouth. In addition, money was raised towards the Severn Hospice, Hope House and Friendly Neighbours charities.

Volunteer Alan Stewart who is also a Master Composter as well as Project Manager for the Ludlow Cardboard Christmas event explained “We had the commitment and professional organisation of Ludlow “Pride of Place”, the facilities and knowledgeable staff of South Shropshire Furniture Scheme, Cae Post’s enthusiasm (and compaction equipment) and the wonderful nature of the people of Ludlow. Maybe we can learn from Shrewsbury’s collection experience if we have to do it again, but more than three tonnes is good for our first Cardboard Christmas.”

Packaging Symbols Explained

Packaging has many labels to promote environmental activity. To make sure these claims are accurate, a set of international standards have been developed known as the Green Claims Code.

When we're out and about promoting recycling and composting with Shropshire Master Composters a lot of people ask us about these labels on packaging, so to help you cut through all the green wash and understand them better we have put together a simple guide to the most common labels.
The Recycle Now Swoosh - is a call for action. It is often used for marketing purposes and simply means please try and recycle whenever possible.

The 'International Tidy Man' is the symbol of the ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ campaign.  symbol is regularly seen on packages in the UK. It  is simply to remind people not to litter.   It does not relate to recycling.
This symbol means the product is made from Aluminium and thus can be recycled in an Aluminium recycling facility.
This symbol is often found on the packaging for batteries and electrical items. It simply means that these items are NOT to be disposed of in your general rubbish because they should always be recycled instead.
The British Retail Consortium recycling symbols are now starting to appear on some packaging. They help to identify how different parts of packaging can be recycled. “Widely Recycled” means 65% of people have access to recycling facilities for this. “Check locally” means 15% - 65% of people have access to recycling facilities for this. “Not recycled” means less than 15% of people have access to recycling facilities for this.   Der Grüne Punkt (The Green Dot) is a german logo used across Europe.  It does NOT necessarily mean that the packaging can be recycled or has been recycled. It is used in the EU to show that the manufacturer pays money into the national packaging recycling scheme.
The 'Polymer Identification Code' (PID) is voluntarily used by some parts of the plastics industry.  Each number Identifies the type of plastic. The number relates to the type of plastic, in this case PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate). Glass This is just a polite reminder to please recycle all your glass bottles and jars. Steel (various logos) these all basically just mean that the item can be put in a steel recycling facility. Recycled Newspaper - This logo means the National Association of Paper Merchants certify this is made from a minimum of 75% recycled paper. FSC logo - This means the Forest Stewardship Council certified this wood as coming from sustainable forests. It does not relate to recycling. ‘Mobius Loop’ This means that an object is technically capable of being recycled - not that the object has been recycled or indeed that there is even currently recycling facilities for it. ‘Mobius Loop’ (with percentage).  This shows the percentage of recycled material within the item

Battery recycling in Shropshire

 

We consume millions of batteries every year, to satisfy our demand for a portable power source, from remote controls to personal stereos . Around 600 million UK household batteries (22,000 tonnes) – the equivalent weight of 110 Jumbo Jets – are sent to landfill unnecessarily every year.  

The average family uses 22 batteries a year, which means annually we get through more than 5 million of the things across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin.

The good news is they can all be recycled.  Simply take them back to the shop you bought them from.  All major UK retailers are obliged to accept your batteries back free of charge and recycle them.


They accept any household battery - sometimes these goes by unusual names such as Zinc carbon  / Zine Chloride, Alkaline manganese, Primary button cells, Mercuric oxide, Zinc air,  Silver oxide, Nickel cadmium, Nickel metal hydride and Lithium-Ion batterie, Nickel cadmium (NiCd) batteries.  They can all be recycled just look out for the recycling bins in your local shop.   

Sue Ryder Shop Shrewsbury

People in Shrewsbury are lucky to have the benefit of free household collections of large appliances and other household goods thanks to local charity shop Sue Ryder. 

 

Based on Roushill in the town centre - Sue Ryder are a leading national charity who do alot of good work in the community and use their shop to raise funds for this charitable work.  So if you are looking to de-clutter and have any items that are good enough to be resold, contact your local shop. They can if you like arrange for a free collection and you'll know that your item is being put to good use in raising money for charity.

 
This shop is also a great place to pick up good quality clothes, or that one-off piece of interesting bric-a-brac, all at bargain prices.  Their shop is located within easy walk of the main town centre and car parking on Roushill.

What do they want? Well - basically anything they can sell!

• Clothing and Accessories
• Fridges and freezers
• TVs
• Sofas
• Bric-a-brac
• Books, Records, CDs and DVDs
• Children's Wear
• Electrical items
• Exercise Equipment
• Jewellry
• Paintings 
• Furniture
• Doll's Houses
• Guitars and Musical instruments

Location: - 

10 Roushill Bank,
Shrewsbury,
Shropshire,
SY1 1PN

Telephone - 01743 356046

Manager - Judy Walker

Email - roushill4148@suerydercare.org  

Opening times -  

• Monday 9.00 - 5.00
• Tuesday 9.00 - 5.00
• Wednesday 9.00 - 5.00
• Thursday 9.00 - 5.00
• Friday 9.00 - 5.00
• Saturday 9.00 - 5.00
• Sunday 10.00 - 4.00

Remember as well as the shop - Sue Ryder can be found on e-bay too.

Wasting bread

Did you know?

 

The average family in Shropshire goes through 80 loaves of bread, spending around £100 on bread products each year.  Alot of money for many people and yet about a quarter of this just ends up in the bin!  Shocking but true, in fact just in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, we bin about 25,000 slices of bread every day!! Thats enough stacked bread to reach the top of the Long Mynd!! So lets try to reduce this problem and save ourselves some money.  

Before you shop

• Think about the week ahead and what bakery products you are likely to need.
• Plan your meals ahead - only buy what you really need - remember to write a shopping list!

When you shop

• If you struggle to get through a whole loaf remember most retailers now offer smaller or half loaves of bread.

Making the most of your bakery

• If you are unsure of how much fresh bread your household will get through, you can store bread in the freezer, to take out slice by slice.

Use your loaf

• Most bakery products have a ‘best before’ date - these dates refer to quality, so your bakery products can still be eaten after this date, but may no longer be at their best.

 

Top tips

• Storing bread in the fridge can make it go stale quicker. The best place to store bread is in a cool, dark and dry place, your bread bin or store cupboard is perfect.

• To freshen up a day old loaf, hold it very briefly under a running cold tap. Give it a good shake and pop in a hot oven for about 10 minutes; it will be as soft and crusty as freshly baked bread

·     We were thinking the other day about ways of using up old bread and heres some ideas from our volunteer Master Composters so you can stop bread going mouldy and have less in your bin;

·          

·         1-GRATED BREAD can be kept in the freezer for many many months even for last minute as a crunchy topping for pasta bakes. 

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·         2- CROUTONS is one of our main ideas for bread which is just a little bit starting to turn stale.  Different people had different ways of making it but I recommend frying it on both sides with butter and then cut it into small squares, sprinkle on soups - its delicious.

·          

·         3- BRUSCHETTA just cut your bread in slices just place in oven and add olive oil and some fresh tomatoes it makes a delcious warm crispy open sandwich which is often eaten as a simple starter with Italian meals.

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·         4- BREAD SOUP - yes you read correctly, im talking about putting ripped up chunks of stale bread into a big pot of soup, normally I do this with a chunky vegetable soup made from onion, potato, carrots, broccoli and butter beans trust me, its delicious with bread added it goes all soggy and soft and melts in your mouth. 
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·         5- BREAD SOUFFLE - Stale bread, milk, eggs, cheese (mozzarella or any other you might have at home). Place bread in milk and when well absorbed add egg yolks and firm egg whites, put salt and put in a previously  buttered oven pan and add the cheese on the top. Put in the oven at 180° until the cheese is golden. Serve hot.

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·         6- SWEET BREAD CAKE - the same recipe as above just add raisins, 1 spoon of sugar and grated lemon skin. Pour in previoulsy oiled pan and cook as a fritatta on both sides, dry the oil out and add jam on the top serve warm.

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·         7- BREAD GNOCCI a great way to use up this key ingredient which you would usually throw away.  First make it into breadcrumbs and then add to the usual flour/egg mix instead of the usual mashed potatoes·  Then simple treat it like pasta, boil and serve with your favourite pasta sauce.
          

·         8- PAIN PERDU is a French recipe where you put old bread to soak with milk and egg (vanilla flavour can be added), then fry until golden on both sides, serve warm with a sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon, it makes a nice change for breakfast!

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·         9- BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING - the classic British desert for using up slices of unused bread, there are hundreds of recipes online if you look, the key thing for me is to use brown sugar and cinnamon for maximum flavour.

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·         10- BREAD SALAD - simply add stale bread to a simple salad of tomato, lettuce, onion, cucumber, use plenty of salad dressing or just simply basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and the bread will enhance the salad and absorb the dressing nicely. 

    That's just a few of the ideas we came up with, be creative and look online at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for more...