Morning of making wishes at the Mall

The coin purse of my wallet was so full and we happened to be at Willow Bend mall. We had a hour to stall until picking Grey up from school. Typically those little rides at the mall in front of the play area eat my change up in no time. Definitely a bummer of a way to go through change. Most of the time they eat your change anyways. But, as we came down the elevator I saw the water fountain / pond thing-a-majig that Riley is always admiring. Theres a sign at the one at Willow Bend indicating that all the change is donated to Childrens Medical Center in Dallas. (Im sure each mall donates to a different charity) And- I realized Id never really stopped to let her throw pennies in there before. So- One penny, nickle and dime at a time, she had the best, simple fun.....making wishes.

Read More..

Making 2020 Zero Waste Work Coventry Conference

Professor Paul Connett, presenting at the Coventry conference

Today, representatives from central government, local authorities and universities gathered together in Coventry along with social enterprises, mulitnationals, waste management companies, the third sector and environmental bodies, to explore how UK society can create a proper zero waste economy in line with aspirations for 2020.

For many, zero waste translates as zero waste to landfill, but a strong message that was made clear at todays conference was that a zero waste goal should be exactly what it says...simply ZERO waste, achieved through innovations that design out waste during manufacture and a society that promotes reuse and technologies that enable precious resources to be properly recycled rather than the assumption that the simplest destination for residual waste is to be burned with no other opportunity for recovery.

Anyone who has any doubts over whether this zero waste vision could become a reality, should consult with American waste campaigner Professor Paul Connett, pictured above, who presents a strong case for product redesign, economic incentives, community empowerment and the development of separation & research facilities at landfillincineration sites, as being vital components in making it work.

And the key to success is everyone in the chain working together to drive the results forward, an example of which was announced in Coventry today, where Coventry University, which already runs 50 courses in sustainability and the environment, revealed plans to create a Zero Waste research centre, working closely with the local authority.

Todays programme also presented examples of industrys approach to creating zero waste through manufacturing processes and facilities management as well as examplers of community-based programmes and waste stream development.

The presentation by Garden Organics Myles Bremner particularly struck a chord, as it was one of the strongest case studies  for how individuals can make a difference, not only regarding reducing their own waste, but by empowering their communities.  Through the Master Composter scheme, Garden Organics has been successful in creating a peer-to-peer network, where members of the public are able to help others, by sharing their expertise locally.

Of course I couldnt leave the conference without highlighting my strong belief that a similar peer-to-peer network is needed to nurture recycling champions across the UK, where trusted and enthusiastic members of the community are empowered to share their knowledge through local groups and at key events.  Social-networking has already demonstrated the power of word-of-mouth. If this could be replicated throughout local communiities, this greater awareness could bring beneficial results to not just recycling rates but to waste arisings too.

Although this event was organised independently of National Zero Waste Week, it was a welcome coincidence and well-timed for this weeks calendar.  It would have been news to most of those who attended todays conference that this week is indeed the 4th national awareness week of its kind.   And with reference to my earlier point about community champions, National Zero Waste Week, as organised by Rachelle Strauss of MyZeroWaste is an excellent example of how a positive role model can engage with the community around them, allbeit a virtual one.  With over 12,000 visitors to the campaign page, it certainly has proven its wide reach.

The Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was in attendance today and stayed for a short while following her keynote speech.  Although the government is placing waste prevention high on its agenda and has created a path towards a zero waste economy, todays  conference demonstrated that it needs to work harder and be tougher on manufacturing to design out waste and solutions for maximising the waste that remains.  I hope that government now shifts its expectations to fit more closely in line with the visionaries we saw today, who are passionate about better use of the worlds resources and the socio-economic opportunities of managing them more effectively.

Mal Williams, CEO of the Welsh community recycling network Clych, who also spoke at todays conference, really couldnt have put the point more bluntly.

"Waste is a mistake, not a resource," he asserted and referring to how society goes forward, he added that it is time to move from a "Careless system to a CAREFUL system".

And I have to agree, this should be the barometer against which a sustainable zero waste strategy should be measured and judged.

____________________________________________________________

This blogpost has been written in support of National Zero Waste Week 2011. More information about the awareness week can be found at www.myzerowaste.com.  Further details about the Making 2020 Zero Waste Work conference are available at www.climate-change-solutions.co.uk, where the speakers presentations will be published very soon.

Read More..

Making 2020 Zero Waste Work UK Conference 9th September

Wherever you are in the country, if youre interested in how the UK can develop an effective Zero Waste economy, you should try and get to Coventry on Friday 9th September for the conference Making 2020 Zero Waste Work: Achieving a low carbon resource efficient future.

With a keynote speech from the Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, Secretary for State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the event pulls together some of the countrys key thinkers and international change-makers in the zero waste sector, including policy makers, retail representatives, local authority services and waste management companies.

Workshops will offer opportunities to explore topics that include:

• Best practice for business resource efficiency
• Closed loop recycling of food waste
• Accelerating the pace of industrial design
• How local authorities can drive zero waste
• Community engagement & eco parks.

The event promises to offer an exciting programme, which will see plenty of opportunity for networking with the thought-leaders from the Zero Waste sector.

For more information and to register, please visit:
http://www.climate-change-solutions.co.uk/Making2020ZeroWasteWork.php

Read More..

Making the most of 2012 Happy New Year!

Well Happy New Year all!   I hope you enjoyed your New Years Eve celebrations and are poised to take your empties down to the bottle bank at a decent hour.

Personally, Ive been looking forward to the start of 2012.  Not that 2011 was a crap year.  In fact it was rather good to me, aside from the upsets of losing our beloved cat and having to rehome our chickens. 

Last year was most definitely one of opportunity, whether that meant understanding even more about the opportunities and challenges for Zero Waste, to interviewing Kevin McCloud about upcycling at his Grand Designs exhibition, or making an appearance on Dispatches and Womans Hour, which both left ripples of amusement as a backdrop to the very serious subject of waste.

But there were three significant events that could solidify what 2011 was about for me.

The first was the Save the Children conference, which not only gave greater understanding of their amazing work and constant quest for support and funds, but asked us, the attendees, what we were born to do.  It was then, after many previous thoughts of ditching the blog and my incessant natterings about rubbish, did I make a personal commitment to carry on the challenge to encourage folk to reconsider their rubbish and think about the world outside their bins.  There is a great imbalance between the parts of global society that can afford to waste and those which, for reasons of poverty or natural disaster, cant, and this creates a reminder of why as an international community we need to make the most of our resources and use them more wisely, both now and in the future.

The second event was my 1000 bins campaign, a 12 week challenge to raise awareness of the often overlooked on-street recycling bin. The aim was to promote Recycling on the Go through the summer of 2011 and draw attention to two significant waste related events, making a connection between Recycle Week, which took place in June and Zero Waste Week, which provided the finale in September.  Led by the bespectacled, curly-haired Welsh bundle of gorgeousness, Shedwyn, who was outed as my newly acquired alter-ego, the campaign taught me a number of things:  People will actually do things if you ask them to (demonstrated by self-embarrassment when taking photos of bins in public) and that the serious world of recycling and waste could do with a bloody huge injection of comedy that tickles people into rethinking waste.

The third event was the energyshare project, where I was sponsored to help raise the profile of the Hexham River Hydro project in its bid to win the funding. This brought me into a community of people who demonstrated not only the appreciation of protecting its foundations but illustrated the power of innovative thinking in moving forward, how making use of a renewable energy source could harness future opportunities for energy creation, generating much-needed income and knowledge sharing to inspire others.  2011 ended with Hexham River Hydro successfully winning their category, which was fabulous news.  However for me, the icing on the cake was how not only did I make some new friends, but it unexpectedly brought me back into contact with an old work friend too. A wonderful surprise, which illustrated not only what a small world this is, but how connected we all are, even if we dont actually realise it.

So, onto 2012 and looking to the future.

Drawing on lessons of 2011, Ive decided my theme this year is going to be Making the most of what Ive got!

Some could say its enforced.  I confess to spending far too much money on clothes and shoes in 2011 and Ive been forewarned by my husband that I need to tighten my proverbial belt.  However that picture provides an image of doom and gloom.  Friends who know me well, know that Im stubborn in nature and never like being told what to do.

However, I refuse to consider 2012 to be a year of austerity, even if its defined as such.  Instead, Im going to make it into a year of opportunity, and heres a taster.

In 2012 I endeavour to:

• Make more use of my culinary talents, instead of eating out so often (yes, they are still buried deep inside, if I dare to look). Who knows, I may even throw a party, so watch this space for invitations!
• Make far better use of my clothes, by repairing them myself, or taking them to one of the many alteration shops that are starting to pop up in town.  The latter is already sounding a more realistic option.
• Make better use of my space: do I really need half the stuff thats cluttering up my home? No! Especially as it clutters up my head too.  So this is the year I am going to be brutal and set things free. Oh such bravado!
• Make things last longer, whether its a glass of wine, an item of clothing or a gadget.
• Make do with what Ive got and borrow what I need.

And finally, yes finally, Im going to make the most of what Ive learned over the last few years and work harder to share that knowledge in 2012.  I know Ive got to overcome my natural shyness first - dont laugh, I really am that shy!

Ive realised, its no good keeping my enthusiasm and jolliness about reducing waste to myself.  Other people should be entitled to a good giggle too, so thats what Im going to do this year, get more folk laughing about their rubbish and in doing so, hopefully encourage ambitions to reduce it.

So watch this space. 

In fact, you wont need to wait long.  In a few weeks time, Ill be rolling out the 2012 Rubbish Diet Challenge and revealing a handful of bloggers, Tweeters and Facebook friends who have decided to have a go and I cant wait to see them poking about their bins!  I hope youll join in too, or encourage your friends to have a peek.

In the meantime, Ill be back over the next few days, chatting about how Im making the most of my gas consumption as well as my new mobile phone - but not at the same time of course.  Tut tut, that would be far too dangerous a combination.

So heres to a brand new year ahead of us and ensuring we make the most of it.

I do so hope youll join me.

Happy New Year to you.  I hope you have a fabulous 2012!

__________________________________________________

P.S.  That hat, yes THAT HAT, is not mine, but a frivolous item that can be found amongst the treasures of the Theatre Royal wardrobe department in Bury St Edmunds.  Hat hire is available for a small donation only, whereas you can hire a whole costume for just £12.  I definitely think Ill be making the most of that this year.  As Miranda Hart would say.  "Such Fun!"

Read More..

Where will it end up Tracking my mobile with O2 Recycle

Look! Thats my scared face, which says, "I dont really want to let go of this phone, but now Im here and I promised Id do it, I suppose Im going to have to let you take it."

Have you ever recycled a mobile phone? 

I hadnt until today, despite having owned six of the things ever since I got my very first phone in 1998.  Look, it was such a momentous occasion back then, we even captured it on camera!  It was so big, I almost needed two hands to hold it up my ear!

Christmas morning, 1998. Id never wear that dressing gown with FaceTime!

Its sad to think that phone is still packed away somewhere in my loft.  When recovered, it will be like an historic artefact from the days when phones were phones, not the mini computer devices that they are now.  Even though I have no use for it, it will probably be very hard to give up.  You see, I really do get attached to my phones for all sorts of odd reasons, whether they remind me of a time when I had a cool job, or contained the recording of my toddler telling me he loved me, or even symbolise the day I jumped into a swimming pool to rescue my drowning four-year old, with my phone in my back pocket.

There is one phone that Ive not particularly been attached to though and thats my Nokia N97.  It might have been great at getting me onto Twitter and Facebook and juggling my multi-media usage, but I havent half given it a good battering these last few years. Its time was definitely up twelve months ago, not least because the back-end would fall off at impromptu moments, Its also developed several other features that are noteworthy of its early demise, including the semi-detatchment of its silver fascia as a result of recent contact with the floor.  Then theres the way it would suddenly reboot while I was surfing the mobile net.

However, if it hadnt been for a discussion with some friendly folk from O2, this phone would be sitting in the drawer thats now dedicated to out-of-date gadgets and electronic leads, while I enjoy my more up-to-date technology.

Id explained to O2 that given my bizarre attachment to old devices, I would only ever recycle one of my phones if I could be convinced that it was worthwhile.  After all, Id much rather keep it in a drawer than go to the trouble of stripping off the data, just for it to be taken apart.

They then reassured me that just because my phone looked like it was due for the scrapyard, that wasnt necessarily the case and that it would most likely be refurbished and sold on as a reconditioned device, probably in an overseas market.

Suddenly I was interested in finding out more.

I wanted to know exactly where my phone would end up.

And I wanted to know the story of who would be using it.

I asked O2 whether we could do that, and after some phone calls around head office and to their recycling company Redeem, they said yes.  We could certainly track my old Nokia to its end market and depending on the privacy wishes and language capabilities of the new owner, it may be possible to discover the other information too.

And that got me very excited.

So, with all my photos copied, contacts deleted and messages stripped, I skipped off to our local O2 store this morning to do the deed.  Well, I say I skipped.  Actually, for some reason, I was very nervous.  I wanted reassurance that no sensitive data, or remote access to my emails or online accounts could be retrieved from my old phone, once I handed it over. 

Glendon, the Store Leader, reassured me.  In fact, one of the first steps was to restore the phone to its factory settings and ensure that everything had been deleted off.

The rest of the process was very straight forward, confirming that I should hopefully get around £32 for my old phone, which will soon be credited to my bank account, without me having to lift a finger.

It was really that simple, Im now wondering what the fuss was about!  Look, Im now looking much happier about letting go of that dodgy old phone and setting it free for refurbishment and onto pastures new.

By tomorrow, the phone will be somewhere in Scotland, being refurbished by O2s recycling partner Redeem, and once its passed quality control, it will be despatched onto its journey, where it will be tracked all the way.

Apparently it should only take two weeks until it reaches its end destination.  Hopefully then it will quickly find its way to its new owner and I then hope they will get in touch.  Its risky I know, but Ive sent them a message with my email and phone number.

Oh gawd, I could be opening up a whole new can of worms, but it would be exciting to find out with whom it ends up and to discover what really happens when a phone gets recycled.

_________________________________________________________

If youre interested in recycling your old phone for cash, there are many ways in which you can do it, but it you wish to use O2s service, you can recycle by post and fill your details online, or pop into a store near you.  You dont even need to be a customer.  More information is available at www.o2recycle.co.uk.  O2 dont make any profit from this service.  All proceeds from their sales go to their charity Think Big, which supports community projects that help young people.   Other gadgets such as iPods, cameras and even routers can also be recycled, although these are not processed on a cash-back basis.

Read More..