RECYCLE ON THE GO with Shedwyn and friends

WELL WELL WELL.  Im still getting over the shock of being outed recently by The Observers very lovely Lucy Siegle who just so happened to reveal to the nation, my peculiar habit of embarrassing the kids by taking photos of municipal trash cans.   Yes I know....!

But I admit it.  Indeed I really do have a sad collection of bin photos, recycling ones in particular, taken whilst out shopping and on holiday, both in the UK and overseas, Well it IS research you know!  In fact this is the blogpost that initially grabbed the attention, taken on a day-trip to Barry Island in South Wales, the spiritual home of sitcom Gavin & Stacey.

Now I dont think Im the only one to notice how these hight street recycling bins are starting to pop up in all manner of places in the UK.  And I bet Im not the only one to have taken photos of them either (although most people will only have included them unknowingly in the background). But if you start looking, youll find them in many high streets and tourist hotspots around the country, and theyre proving to be a very valuable tool in helping the UK reduce the amount of plastic, aluminium and paper thats sent to landfill or incineration.

They come in all shapes and sizes too.  Take the one above for instance, which was snapped at Brussels Eurostar terminal.  It even looks like a giant shape-sorter.   Of course there are plenty more inconspicuous ones that often get overlooked, which is why Rachelle Strauss at My Zero Waste and I are launching a challenge to promote these very useful facilities and find out exactly where they are.

So the challenge ladies and gentlemen, is TO COLLECT 1000 PHOTOS or VIDEOS by the end of this years National Zero Waste Week, which takes place on 5-11 September.

Yes 1000!  I know!!!

Thats more than this busy mother of two can manage, which is why weve employed the talents of our bespectacled pal SHEDWYN, whos as mad as brush and will be popping up in all sorts of places around the country taking photos.  Here she is....getting prepared for some hard and fast recycling action on the streets of London, either that or trying to flag down a taxi with an empty drinks bottle and a copy of The Metro.

But good grief, WHERE did she get those glasses!!!  Oh bless her.

Anyway, Shedwyns other mission is to make recycling bins as entertaining as possible and shell even be encouraging the odd comedian or busker to strut their stuff as they recycle on the go.

But even this Welsh Wonderwoman cant do this without any help either.  She needs YOUR help and WED LOVE YOU TO JOIN IN TOO.  Its really easy.  We simply need you to snap & post a few photos, thats all.

Whenever you spot a public high-street recycling bin, it would be great if you could take a quick photo and post it onto our NEW FACEBOOK PAGE!   The funnier or more unusual, the better.  You could put yourself in the frame too, or even send an entertaining video to show off your hidden (or not so hidden) talents. Theyll also be entered into our photo collection as well as any sketches or artwork submitted by artists.  To add them directly, you just need to like the new Facebook page and upload them straight to the pages wall, which you will find at: Standup for Recycling out on the street: The 1000 bin challenge.

Just remember to include the town and location of where you found the bin.  It would be brilliant to get submissions of overseas bins too, especially if they offer extra design features, such as voice-activation or play music.

Even if you dont have a Facebook account, you can still join in by sending your submissions to: standup@therubbishdiet.co.uk and we will post them online for you.

All submissions added will be automatically entered into the Zero Waste Week annual competition, details of which will be announced at www.myzerowaste.com at the end of July.  The final deadline for the challenge is 11 September and all winners will be revealed at the end of September.

Our 1000 bin challenge is an independent social-media campaign, coordinated by The Rubbish Diet blog and My Zero Waste.  It is officially being launched on Monday 20th June to show our support for WRAPs Recycle Week 2011 campaign, which itself runs until 26th June.

And this years Recycle Week looks like its going to be a real brilliant one.  The theme is Recycling - Home and Away and aims to demonstrate the positive effect of recycling a little bit more, whether at home, at work or out-and-about. Theres even a competition to guess the location of  some on-street recycling bins at the Recycle Now website.  I reckon old Shedwyn will be able to have a good crack at that, given the way she gets around!

The other big news this year is that anti-litter organisation Keep Britain Tidy is also partnering with WRAP and has been working with pilot authorities to launch this years Recycle Week, encouraging organisers of Big Tidy Up events to recycle litter.  More information about Recycle Week and how you can get involved is now available at www.recyclenow.com and www.thebigtidyup.org.

So what are you waiting for?  Theres lots going on and Im looking forward to seeing what youll get up to.  Whatever it is, just remember to keep it clean...AND remember to take your camera.

1000 photos eh.....whoa...this will definitely be a challenge and a half, especially as well only have just 12 weeks.   Its time for Shedwyn and her mates to get snapping.

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energyshare Hexham social media old friends and me

The last couple of weeks have have been some of the most extraordinary in my blogging life, having spent much of November helping to campaign for public votes to help Hexham River Hydro win energyshare funding of £100,000, WHICH THEY DID ON SATURDAY, so a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who voted.

With the campaigning over, I now want to take some time out to reflect on what has been a very exciting but overwhelming experience in many ways.

When energyshare first got in touch to ask if Id like to work with them as a blogging champion for one of the shortlisted entries, it sounded like a very exciting prospect.  It was the first time Id heard of energyshare, but the idea that it was supporting community based energy creation, based on inspiration by River Cottage & Landshare originator Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was a very interesting one indeed.

What I hadnt expected though was the community project that I would be allocated would be one that would involve a 5 hour train trip, up north to Hexham in Northumbria.

Nor had I expected the impact the community would have on me when I arrived there.

And I certainly hadnt prepared myself for the string of coincidences in my life that would surround Hexham either.

Energyshare recognised that theyd given me a community that was very far away from home and gave me the opportunity to support them remotely.  Having read the project details for the Hexham River Hydro scheme, I knew I could blog about them enthusiastically - I love the idea of harnessing power from water -  but I didnt think I could do it with the level of passion that was needed unless I saw it first hand.

The first phone calls I made with Tamsin, then Gillian and then the rest of the the Hexham River Hydro team revealed the first glimpses of their drive and enthusiasm that I was desperate to harness during my proposed visit there.  And I wasnt to be disappointed.

From the moment I stepped off the train and was welcomed by Malcolm, one of the project team members, I knew it was going to be a 24 hour whirlwind of a visit.  During the short walk to the town centre, Id already gleaned some information about the towns initial commitment to renewable energy, with Malcolm pointing out the solar panels that had been installed on the roof of the sports centre.

Then came the opportunistic video in the stocks outside the town gaol (youll need to see my video), followed by the very exciting introduction to the team, who were having a project meeting at their hub, at Scotts Cafe in the Forum cinema.

The Hexham River Hydro Project Team

Once calm had been restored, it was a real privilege to settle myself into the meeting and hear the ideas that the team was planning for campaigning to secure as many public votes as possible for their energyshare funding bid.   There were so many ideas that truly reflected the groups energy

That night after pizza, I was "unofficially inaugurated" into the community by taking part in the Hexham Community Choir.  For 50 minutes, the choir suffered my tone-deaf vocals, until Gillian announced why I was in town. Soon after it was off to the pub for some cider and more singing.  It was a real warm welcome to what was an unfamiliar town in an unfamiliar part of the country.

Hexham Community Choir

The real work started the next day.  Well, I say it was work, it was more of an insightful introduction into the teams enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment as well as their vision on how a hydro electricity generator could create funds for social projects around the town.

On location at the site of the river hydro scheme

And everything that I experienced that day was eye-opening, whether it was watching leaping salmon for the very first time in my life, making Christmas cards with the mums who use the community house No. 28, or meeting the teenagers at the Youth Initiative, who are so grateful for their facility and also realise how its heavily dependent on fund generation.

The Community House, No 28.

And having the opportunity to meet, conservationists, councillors, the mayor, members of Transition Tynedale, students of the local Mencap college and local schools, really cemented how much Hexham Community Partnership worked hard to create a fantastic foundation for such a great community.

Members of the community, including The Mayor, Transition Tynesdale, Hexham Community Partnership and councillors

I really felt honoured to have met so many people during my visit, which is why when it was announced at the live countdown on Saturday that they had won the £100K energyshare funding, I found myself getting quite emotional over the result too and so pleased for the community that Id championed.

Hexham River Hydros Gillian Orrell at the energyshare finals. If she was this pleased about winning a vote rush prize, just imagine how it felt to win the £100k funding. Its just a pity my camera battery ran out, so I couldnt capture the scene.

Ive now got a funny feeling, that this isnt the end of my relationship with Hexham. Not only because of the lovely welcome and my interest in following the development of the Hexham River Hydro project.

There are a few coincidences that have come about too.

Having uploaded my photos onto Facebook, it quickly emerged that not only does one of my social-media contacts originate for this beautiful town, but one of my favourite soap-makers lives only ten minutes away too, the fabulous Allyson, with whom Ive had many a conversation during the last three years.  Even while I was there, I stumbled upon the gallery of the most amazing artist Matt Forster. Wed started following each other on Twitter well before Id even heard of Hexham.  His work is truly superb and is really worth checking out.  Heres a peek at just one photo I took during my brief visit to his gallery.

By artist  Matt Forster

However the most amazing coincidence of all is the news that Gillian, had received a telephone call from a good friend of hers several days after my visit, to enquire whether it was true that a Karen Cannard had been in town.

It turns out that her friend is none other than a lovely former colleague of mine, who as a young lady used to work for me at a music digitisation company in London, back in the 1990s. After Id left, shed spent time travelling overseas. I moved house several times and then relocated to Suffolk. We lost touch, but Id always wondered what had happened to her.

Now I know and it was an absolute delight to hear Gillian bring me up to speed a whole decade later.

So, Ive now got plenty of reasons to visit a place, which until a few weeks ago, Id actually never even heard of before.

Huge congratulations to Hexham River Hydro for winning the large category on Saturday and thank you for being such fabulous hosts.

I have no doubt we will meet again and I am looking forward to catching up with my old work friend too.

So thank you to energyshare for pairing me up with Hexham. My personal tale is a very unexpected result indeed.

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