What to do with your old Argos catelogues

Residents in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin are being encouraged to help reduce waste to landfill by recycling their old Argos catalogues, when the new one is launched in July 2013.
It is estimated that there are over 30 million Argos catalogues in circulation across the country, each weighing 2kg each – a combined weight equivalent to more than 10,000 double decker buses!!!!
In Shropshire and Telford, people can recycle old and unwanted Argos catalogues in their kerbside collection box with their paper. They also compost down well eventually but you may need to tear them up a bit first.

Paper based catelogues are a carbon rich source of 'brown' fibrous material for your compost heap which help to mop up moist food waste and other 'green' materials.
All Argos catalogues collected in Shropshire will be sent to the UPM paper mill at Shotton, Deeside where they are turned into newsprint paper and used to make newspapers.

The Indore Composting Method

The Indore Composting method was based on ancient agricultural practices in India but was developed and written about by the late great, Sir Albert Howard in his 1940 epic 'An Agricultural Testament'.  At the time he was working as an agricultural advisor to the Indian government and so he studied alot of aspects of what was then a very low intensive system of farming in India.  But the thing that really fascinated him and to which he devoted most of the writing was the local composting method in Indore.  His scientific experiments showed quite clearly that the compost they made was special and resulted in higher plant productivity than either fertilizer or raw manure.




With the Indore method, a compost heap is built up in 6 inch layers, like a sandwich.  The first layer is made up of green plant matter such as grass clippings or crops. The next layer is a layer of manure, and then its capped off with a thin layer of topsoil. This layering system is  repeated until the pile reaches a height of about 1.5 meters (5 feet) and the heap is doused with water if neccessary to kept it moist.
This technique has been adapted and applied widely and much of the basics of home composting which will still preach today are based on the fundamental tenets of layering & mixing and using a combination of Nitrogen rich materials and Carbon based materials. 


On of the key things with the Indore Composting Method is that the pile needs to be turned over to fire up the microbes and ensure it heats up.  This is done atleast twice in the traditional method using a spade or fork.  Of course in India, the climatic conditions in particular speeds up the composting process, but this technique can still be applied in any country because the microbes themselves create heat anyway.

Recycling Gas Bottles

As the summer barbecue season approaches many people in Shropshire will be making use of gas bottles to power their modern barbecues or perhaps getting out the caravan for the summer.  In fact in many Shropshire homes off the gas network these things are common place, so one way or another it is possible that you may end up with a LPG gas cylinder to dispose of at some point. 

Used gas bottles are considered hazardous waste and must be treated with caution because although unlikely they are potentially explosive. The best option is to take them back to where you got them from.  Most companies which sell them take them back free of charge as part of the service and so hopefully you wont have to deal with them yourself, but there are also facilities for the safe recycling of gas bottles at each of the five Council run Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) in Shropshire.

What type of gas bottles do they accept?

Any pressurized metal containers including: -

• LPG (propane or butane) gas bottles
• Gas fire cylinders
• Diving tanks
• Helium cansisters
• Fire extinguishers
• Beer kegs

How should I recycle them?

Ideally you should take the bottles back to the company that makes them, which can normally be identified from the label. It is important that you handle used gas bottles with care. If you take them to a HRC please ask the site staff for assistance. There is a lockable cage at each of the sites where used bottles can be safely stored.

What happens to the gas bottles?

The aim is to reunite orphaned bottles with the company which makes them. They are collected by the LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) Association and wherever possible they are refilled with more gas and reused again.  As a back up where this is not possible the containers are safely depressurized and then they can be recycled for the scrap metal content. 

Why recycle gas bottles?

Primarily it is a health and safety issue, these things can be dangerous and so it is important to follow the correct disposal instructions and ensure that they get taken for professional reuse / recycling.  Not only is it reducing waste to landfill but by allowing bottles to be reused it is reducing the need for more gas bottles to be manufactured. This is reducing the need for metal to be made which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information on recycling gas bottles visit: - 

• Health and Safety Executive
• UK LPG Association

Britain’s households stash 17 part used paint cans

The Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association is urging the public to take their metal paint cans for recycling after research found that Britain’s households are hoarding 17 part used paint cans each on average.

Britain’s households have 17 part used paint cans each on average and half of these are estimated to be made of metal equating to 39,500 tonnes of scrap metal which could be potentially all be recycled.

The problem is many householders don’t know what to do with the paint left in them.  The Association recommends a number of ways including being donated to local repaint schemes or soaked up in absorbent material like sand and then disposed of.

Nick Mullen, MPMA’s chief executive said: “Why not take your empty metal paint can hoard, to your recycling centre and free up some overlooked storage space?”

In Shropshire you can take unwanted paint to any of the main Household Recycling Centres for disposal and (empty) metal paint tins can be recycled in the scrap metal area.