Passing out Friday Flowers at White Rock Retirement Village

Last friday, we went to Walmart and picked out some flowers. Greyson picked red roses....he has good taste! And, Riley picked out some yellow roses. We took them to visit my Gram-Margie and all her friends at White Rock Retirement Village. Greyson and Riley were so sweet walking around, giving a flower to each lady we saw and saying, "Happy Friday!"

Each night when I put Greyson to bed, we say the #1 high and low of our day before we say our prayers. After passing out all the flowers, Greyson got in the car and said, "Mom, you know what my high was today? Giving those grandmas flowers." Yep, that made it worth the trip....right then and there!

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart,
and good news health to the bones."
Proverbs 15:30

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Wipe Out Waste Welly Boot Camp

I love my job!  Thats if you can call being a roving rubbish-busting blogger a job, I suppose its more of a vocation.  However, no matter what you call it,  I am just appreciative of the places I end up and the brilliant people I meet in the process.

And this week my adventures took me from the East of England to the West Country, from Suffolk to Somerset, where I teamed up with a host of eco-mentors at a "Welly" Boot Camp for a national schools award called Wipe Out Waste.  And trust me, this competition is so cool, Jools Holland has even produced the theme song.

The Wipe Out Waste programme is the brainchild of the fabulous Karen Ford, the founder of its platform organisation Footprint Friends, which was launched to raise awareness of environmental issues amongst 10-18 year olds.

Karen Ford, founder of Footprint Friends and Wipe Out Waste

Wipe Out Waste is about reaching out to these children, asking them for innovative ideas that could potentially be pitched to industry or rolled out to all schools to help eliminate waste.  And last years winning entry is a great example of how the competition can really make a difference to participants and industries that are involved.

Ringwood School Hampshire were last years winners.  The team is pictured above with Yeo Valleys Graham Keating and eco-mentor Giles Aspinall from The Magdalen Project.  It is thanks to their idea and their working relationship with Yeo Valley that the yoghurt manufacturers HQ was the location for the boot camp.

I witnessed Ringwood Schools pitch during last years Wipe Out Waste finals, which was for yoghurt pots to be made from standardised plastics that would be easy to recycle across the UK.  They had already contacted yoghurt manufacturers as part of their research and Yeo Valley welcomed their questions and ideas with open arms.  The winning team has since visited Yeo Valley on a number of occasions and has become involved in discussions about improving the plastics used.  The team from Ringwood also came along to the Welly Boot Camp as mentors for this years entrants and it was clear from conversations how both the school and Yeo Valley have benefited from the competition and the direct link-up.

Coming back to this years shortlisted entrants (pictured below), the Welly Boot Camp was a fabulous opportunity for school teams from right across the country to meet a range of eco-mentors who coached them through confidence improvement tricks, presentation skills, media training as well as offering a chance to brainstorm their ideas with industry professionals.

Schools included: Abbots Hill School, Hertfordshire; Dixon City Academy, Bradford;  Hollyfield School Kingston; The Mountbatten School, Romsey; Sidcup School; St. Lukes, Exeter and 

St Timothys, Glasgow.

After such an intensive programme, representatives from each team delivered a brief presentation to the rest of the audience about their experience and what theyd learned from the day.  I couldnt help but be struck by their confidence, enthusiasm and was quite overwhelmed by the realisation that standing in front of us were such an amazing range of leaders.  We often think that children are the leaders of the future, but actually it became pretty obvious that with their ambition and enthusiastic delivery these young people are actually leaders of today.

Im now looking forward to the finals, where the shortlisted schools will each get an opportunity to use the skills they learned from this weeks boot camp and pitch their ideas to a group of green dragons, some of whom were part of the eco-mentor team, including my lovely pal author and broadcaster (and WOW project manager) Tracey Smith, the Carbon Coach aka Dave Hampton and Good Energys Joe Wadsworth, who are pictured below with the rest of the team.

Back row L-R, John (Professor Fiddlesticks), Giles (The Magdalen Project); Karen (Footprint Friends); Joe (Good Energy); Julian (The Environment Agency).  Front row L-R: Me; Ben (Footprint Friends); Dave (The Carbon Coach); Tracey; Robin (EatWeeds.co.uk); Martin (New Energy Thinking); Graham (Yeo Valley)

The only people missing were the guys from media company Nice and Serious, who were no doubt off filming somewhere.  So its a good job Id snapped Tom and Matt at work the night before:

The results of the competition will be announced in the Summer, when the schools get a chance to present their ideas in an environment that is very similar to Dragons Den.  Having chatted to most of the shortlisted schools, I can already see its going to be a tough decision for the judges.

So watch this space for a summer update and in the meantime why not get prepared to encourage your local school to enter next year...or at least for now join in the Wipe Out Waste sing-song, which you can hear in the video below:



The song is also available to download via  iTunes.

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What happened when Shedwyn ran out of recycling bins

Shedwyn, the campaign mascot for the 1000 bins challenge, has been a bit quiet of late, despite the news that this IS THE LAST WEEK of the campaign and what with it being National Zero Waste Week and all, it was a bit of a shock to catch her putting her feet up in a cafe in town.

Sipping coffee, while everyone else is sending in photos. What a cheek!

But bless her. Shes only gone and run out of recycling bins to photograph in Bury St Edmunds.  I suppose theres only so much you can stretch your imagination with just two bins in the very centre of town, and with the car in for repair and having run out of train money, what else could our roving reporter do?

But this is Shedwyn were talking about.  When theres just nothing to be done, shes a woman who thinks of something!

For starters, how about emailing the local council, politely asking for a few more bins?  Here she is getting all serious about the very serious issue of installing some serious recycling bins in very beautiful Abbey Gardens.  A serious subject indeed.

But Shedwyns not very good at doing serious, so having exercised her fingertips at the keyboard, she couldnt help but get back out on the streets, where she managed to grab hold of a handsome man to brighten up his day and praise the virtues of "recycling-on-the-go"!

Yes that is really BBC Radio Suffolks reporter Luke Deal pictured with Shedwyn.  Its a shame you cant hear her rabbiting on about where to find recycling bins around Suffolk.

Meanwhile, whilst that cheeky woman was busy chatting up men by bins, I took the opportunity of catching up with Radio Suffolks Lesley Dolphin, who was broadcasting her show from Bury St Edmunds market this afternoon.  Well, someone has to do the hard work and its always lovely to talk to Lesley.  It was great to have the chance to spread the news about National Zero Waste Week and to promote reducing waste away from home.

Of course the next challenge after the interview was to hunt down Shedwyn in the busy marketplace.  I really should have known.  I managed to eventually track her down having a chinwag with her old pal Sandy at the other recycling bin in town.

So I think the moral of todays story is that Shedwyn really does needs to get out more, especially if shes going to meet the 1000 photo challenge by Sunday.

And after todays antics, what with going AWOL, emailing the council and harrassing men at bins I think it might be a very good idea to send her to Coventry.

Actually sending her to Coventrys not a bad notion, especially this Friday when theres a Zero Waste conference going on.  I might just have to loan her the train fare.


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This post was written in support of National Zero Waste Week.  More information about the campaign can be found at www.myzerowaste.com.   Further details about Shedwyn and the 1000 bins campaign can be found at www.1000bins.com.

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Guess wholl be hanging out with Saints for National Zero Waste Week

Ive taken my husband there, my children, my mother and most of my friends in Bury and friends who visit from further afield, not to mention an eco-friendly fireman and an incognito waste campaigner.  So I thought its about time I introduced you to my favourite café to hit Bury St Edmunds too, where I hope you will join me next week to help celebrate an exciting week thats about to hit the blogosphere.

Yes, Monday sees the start of National Zero Waste Week, an annual social media campaign that promotes ideas for waste reduction. Developed and managed by the grassroots website www.MyZeroWaste.com, it is now in its third year, and for the first time is sponsored by Tetra Pak.

This year’s theme, ‘Cooking for Victory’, is supported by celebrity chef Brian Turner CBE, who will share how he views food as an asset on the MyZeroWaste website and will demonstrate “a compost while you cook” approach during National Zero Waste Week. The topics are a response to research by WRAP that reveals households throw away 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink every year, costing the average family in Britain £50 per month.

Enthused by the celebrity chef’s commitment to the national awareness campaign, I asked Saints Café if they would also be prepared to help inspire people at a more local level, serving me a daily “pot luck lunch” to showcase how delicious meals can be made from even small amounts of usable healthy ingredients that busy households might otherwise throw away.  Can you imagine my excitement when they said yes!

Saints Café owners, Engin Aga and Bernadette McAleer, said: "since launching earlier in the year, we have always placed a high emphasis on minimising food waste, sourcing seasonal and local produce where we can, cooking in small batches and fresh to order, along with running a careful stock control system to ensure that the ‘Zero Waste’ model is never far from being achieved.

“We are very excited about the project and are pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate that efficient use of ingredients can reduce household food waste and save families hundreds of pounds a year too”.

Rachelle Strauss, aka Mrs Green, from MyZeroWaste adds "Im thrilled that Karen has teamed up with Saints Café to promote National Zero Waste Week locally. It would be great if other eateries across Bury and Suffolk join in too, inspiring their own customers with ideas to try ‘pot luck recipes’ at home in a bid to reduce the nation’s waste.”

Despite having reduced my waste by 95% since I started The Rubbish Diet in 2008, I know I’ve got lax over the summer and so it will be great to pick up some new ideas and inspiration from one of my favourite cafés in Suffolk. There is a real buzz in the UK at the moment, where professionals are even being signed up by production companies to share their knowledge with prime-time audiences on national TV.   It’s an exciting time for raising awareness locally.

Professional chefs are extremely talented in managing food as a resource and minimising waste and even Brian Turner believes there is a role for local chefs to promote their food efficiency skills amongst their own customer community in a way that is fun and accessible. He says “To all chefs - make the world a better place, buy well, waste nout and make a bit more profit at the same time, itd be daft not to.”

So if you fancy joining me next week at Saints for a coffee or even some lunch yourself, do pop in.  Ill be there enjoying good food and blogging from 1pm every day.  If you do, and can share a top tip or two, Ill even feature you on the blog!   But if you live too far away to come along, dont worry, Ill be sharing their top tips and recipes on the blog throughout National Zero Waste Week, before I pack up and attempt to use up everything from my fridge at home.

So how excited am I to have a legitimate excuse to be a lady who lunches!   Well the answer is very, so do keep coming back for all the updates and if youve got a blog, why not blog about it too.

National Zero Waste Week takes place from 6th-12th September. Anyone can pledge to join in at www.myzerowaste.com, where there will be prizes for the most inspirational stories and opportunities to share news on Facebook and Twitter. For further information about Saints Café, check out their website at www.saintscafe.co.uk.

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Passing out DART tickets

Last Friday we played at the park in downtown Plano and walked across the street to the Farmers Market for some fruits and veggies. Before hopping in our car to drive home, we decided to pay a visit to the DART station for our service project of the week. We bought some day pass tickets and passed them out to people who were in need of one. I think Greyson enjoyed getting some high fives, hugs and smiles from strangers... FUN, FUN, VERY FUN TO MAKE SOMEONES DAY A LITTLE CHEAPER!

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A rubbish hack to help sort out your waste

Amongst many things, the Dispatches documentary on Monday demonstrated how confused people still are over which packaging can be recycled in their local bins.

Packaging information, especially in relation to plastics, is still inconsistent and even though the on-pack labelling is getting better, for many the uncertainty of what can be recycled locally still pervades like a bad smell.

So if youre one of the hundreds of thousands who are still confused, here are my top tips.


1. Get the latest information from your council

Before you do ANYTHING ELSE, yes,  even embarking on reading the rest of this post, get on the blower to your local council, and ask the recycling officers EXACTLY what you should put in your bins. I know it sounds obvious, but if youve been pondering how complicated it all is, this really is the best place to start.


Council information generally describes recyclables by product type and youll find local authorities mainly fall into two categories; those where you can recycle most types of plastic packaging (and will include yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and fruit punnets) or those that cant, thus limiting your plastics collection to simply bottles (including drinks bottles, detergent bottles, milk containers & toileteries).

If the information isnt clear.  Then ask questions so that you are clear on what cancant be put in your local bins.

Another excellent source at your disposal (please excuse the pun), is the Recycle Now website.  You just pop in your postcode and Bobs your uncle, as the system will return the results of what can be recycled at your kerbside, as well as Bring Banks and Household Waste Recycling Centres.

Once you are confident about your councils rules, you will become less reliant on packaging labelling and hopefully less frustrated.

After all, if you cant recycle a plastic fruit punnet through your local collection, you just cant recycle it regardless what  message the packaging information might tell you, so dont fall into the trap of getting hot and bothered.  Instead try and buy the product loose instead.




2. Find out what the recycling labels really mean.

Even though your local recycling officer is the best source to use, the new on-pack recycling labels can offer some extra help, and thats mainly to raise awareness of the materials used and the likelihood that they can be recycled.

Again, the best place to find out about the labelling guidelines is at the Recycle Now website.  Remember, the labelling advice should be followed as a call to action, prompting you to check with your local authority (coming back to point 1) as opposed to a definitive guide in itself.

Once you are familiar with your local rules, even if the packaging doesnt have the correct up-to-date information printed on it youll be more confident about what you should do.  For example, whilst shopping in a supermarket the other day, the own-brand bread packaging showed that it couldnt be recycled, despite the fact that a new in-store collection had been introduced only a month or so earlier, which actually collects packaging film such as bread bags and toilet-roll wrappers.



3. Avoiding packaging that cant be recycled.

With all the controversy surrounding recycling, with its complications, targets and whether it is sorted properly in the first place, it is very easy to lose sight of what we as consumers actually can do to reduce our waste contribution. 

We might not feel as though we have much power, but actually we do...lots!   There are many small changes that we can make, which can have a huge impact if they are applied across the nation.  Id hoped to include some of these this week on Womans Hour, but we simply ran out of time.  This list is not exhaustive by any means, and should really be considered as a starter for ten....

• Avoid packaging: Buy loose wherever possible, and support independent stores such as Unpackaged, which actively promotes that you use your own containers.

• Switch packaging: If there isnt an unpackaged option, switch products you cant recycle for those that you can. For example one particular major toothpaste brand comes in small thin plastic bottles, made from the same plastic as fizzy drinks bottles and can be recycled widely.

• Choose reusable: You can also reduce your packaging by switching from disposable products to reusable ones and prevent other waste too.  Jackie, who was featured in the Dispatches programme, took my advice about ditching floor wipes and bought a reusable mop.  This will save her loads of cash as well as reducing the amount of rubbish thrown away.  If youre an avid baby wipe user, try using soft washable cloths instead.

• Upcycle: If you cant recycle the packaging or avoid it completely, try upcycling it instead and raise some cash for your favourite charity.  Terracycle offers an upcycling service for packaging from brands that include Johnsons baby wipes, Ellas smoothies, Kenco coffee refills and Aquafresh toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes.  Its a great scheme for schools and local community groups.  The products are turned into new things that are sold on the Terracycle website.

• Split It: If you live in one of the areas that doesnt recycle plastic yoghurt pots, check your supermarket shelves for products that use less plastic.  There are pots on the market that now have a thinner plastic liner and a tear-off cardboard outer (just like the one in the photo).  These can be separated, with the cardboard being recycled and less plastic actually going to waste.   More packaging will move in this direction, especially thanks to innovations such as Split-it, so keep an eye out on the shelves for products that can help you reduce waste.

• DIY: Thats right, do it yourself! If youre hacked off with not being able to recycle your ready-meal trays, see if you can save money and waste by making it yourself.  Or if youve got a great friend who can really cook, and I mean really cook, invite yourself around and have a great night out instead of worrying about what youre going to do with the dirty plastic tray and ikky film. Then invite them over next week for some beans on toast!

These few ideas are just touching the surface, but I hope it at leasts provides some food for thought.  I am sure youll have loads more suggestions to add to this, which suit your lifestyle better.  And if you want more inspiration, then check out The Rubbish Diet Challenge, which you can read online for free.

Of course, all Ive covered here is just packaging waste.  Food waste is much more of a significant issue.  If youre interested in tackling that, watch this space as Ill be back soon with more tips on what you can do at home.

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If you missed the Dispatches "Britains Rubbish" documentary on Monday, it is still available for the next 27 days at 4OD. Its packed with footage about fly-tipping, plastics, recycling systems and politicians arguing their case as well as the story of how Jackie, a mum from Manchester reduced her familys rubbish from 13kg a week to 5kg.  I know Im biased, but for me, thats the best bit.  (Just in case youre looking out for it, my appearance is at 15 minutes and 28 minutes into the programme).

If you want to catch up on the Womans Hour broadcast this week featuring Bob Gordon, Head of Environment for the British Retail Consortium and Liz Goodwin, Chief Executive of WRAP, you can listen again via the BBC Womans Hour webpage.  Just look for the chapter on Zero Waste.

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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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