Meet the bin slimmers

Each week, I will be introducing some of the volunteers who have signed up for the Rubbish Diet challenge, so that we can find out more about their rubbish, the issues that arise and their plans for slimming those bins.

For Week 1, Id like to introduce you to two people from Suffolk, Ness and Terry-anna.

Meet Terry-anna

Terry-anna lives with her partner in Ipswich, which falls under the district of Ipswich Borough.

When she first volunteered for the challenge she mentioned that she threw out between 2 -3 bags of rubbish every fortnight. However, already at the start of the challenge this week, shed already slimmed this down to one and a half bags for her first weigh-in. 

This is great. Taking advantage of less waste, Terry-anna has already ordered a new slimmer bin from her council, a 180L, which will take up less room than the average 240L thats issued to most homes.

Some of the key things that her household will be tackling throughout the Rubbish Diet Challenge include some food waste (but not much), aerosol cans and those annoying little things such as tissues.  However, she doesnt want to stop there. When she was offered the opportunity to have a larger recycling bin, she politely declined.  Instead, she hopes to slim down her recycling bin too.

Huge thanks to Terry-anna for joining in and helping to support the launch of the challenge on BBC Radio Suffolk this week.  You can listen in on the link to Mark Murphys show, with my introduction at 1hr 6min and Terry-annas interview at 1hr 25m, where she confesses that she really hopes to get down to zero during Week 8.

*Terry-annas new bin is part of Ipswich Borough Councils 6040 plan where they are aiming for 60% recycling and offer residents the choice of smaller rubbish bins and larger recycling bins. 

For Ipswichs recycling guidelines, click here.



Meet Ness

Ness lives with her husband and three children (aged 6, 8 & 10) plus a dog and two cats, in the rural district of Mid Suffolk.

Currently she has two wheelie bins for rubbish, which are generally full to capacity each fortnight.  However, for her first weigh-in this week, she was already pleased to see that her rubbish was down by one bag since shes been preparing to take on the challenge.

The key challenges for Ness will be organic waste and making sure that her family follows the recycling guidelines.  Its a busy household, which means things that can be recycled often get thrown into the rubbish bin.  Just like Ipswich, Mid Suffolk residents benefit from mixed plastics recycling so most packaging can be put in the recycling bin for kerbside collection. 

However, Mid Suffolk doesnt collect compostables, except for garden waste, and even so, this service is only provided on subscription for residents who need it.  Knowing that organic waste such as peelings and odd pieces of mouldy fruit end up in her rubbish bin, Ness has committed herself to getting to grips with home-composting and has already got a bin on order.

Shes also focusing on how she can organise other materials to drop at the Household Waste Recycling Centre, which admittedly is not always a convenient exercise, but will allow her to recycle textiles, Tetrapaks,  plastic film and hard plastic.  Im hoping that by the end of this challenge, Ness will have cut her rubbish down by at least half and the council will be able to wheel that second bin away.

*For Mid Suffolks recycling guidelines, click here.


Ill be reporting back on how both households have managed later on in the challenge.  In the meantime, for further information about recycling facilities in Suffolk, visit the countys new website.

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Its reached Hong Kong Tracking my mobile phone with O2Recycle

Back in January, I did something Id never done before.  I recycled my old battered mobile phone, working with O2Recycle to track it through their system.

Now, my phone was in a pretty poor condition when it left the UK.  The screen was scratched, the casing was broken and it needed a rubber band to stop the battery falling out.  And there was also the issue of it randomly rebooting itself.   Yet, after assessment, I still received £24 for it, which illustrates how valuable these devices are.

But I wasnt just interested in the cash, I was also interested in how the mobile phone recycling process worked, as well as keen to find out where it would end up.

Its taken a while due to the Chinese New Year and staff holidays, but finally the latest update came through this week.

My phone, a Nokia N97, was initially sent to O2s appointed recycling company, Redeem, which is based in Scotland.  There, it was assessed and categorised as a grade C, highlighting that it would need refurbishment to bring it up to the standard required to be sold onto a new owner.

Nokia phones are currently popular in the Far East so it was packaged up and despatched to the Hong Kong office.  Pictured above is the shipment that contained my phone, arriving in Hong Kong just a couple of weeks after I had handed it in. Deliveries are made every Monday, and upon arrival the phones are unpacked, checked and sorted into model type and condition.

They are then entered onto the companys inventory and are scanned, using the unique barcodes attached to the back of the phones.

When all phones have been scanned and added to the computer system, they are then laid out in plastic crates ready for auction.

Auctions are held every Wednesday and traders arrive from Hong Kong and mainland China to look for popular models that can be easily sold straight away or refurbished. Once theyve browsed the stock and tested the phones, the traders fill out their bid sheets with the price they are willing to pay.  The process is very similar to a silent auction, where whey leave the sheets with the receptionist as they depart.

The bids are entered onto the computer and those who have placed the winning bid receive a SMS and return to collect their phones the following day.  The process is so streamlined that phones requiring no repair or refurbishment can be placed on the market within just a few weeks of being sent to Redeem.
 
I have now received confirmation that my old Nokia has been bought by a trader in Hong Kong, who specialises in refurbishing old phones before selling them at a small phone shop.  It will receive new housing and possibly other parts replaced before being boxed up with new accessories, such as a charger and earphones. It will then be sold onto a member of the public, which could either be a local resident or a tourist.

It still fascinates me that my useless old phone, which would have most likely ended up sitting in a drawer for years, is actually being put to good use over on the other side of the world.

I hope whoever buys it will get in touch.  However I am doubtful, as the Hong Kong office doesnt get that involved with the individual traders.  And although I included my contact details in an accompanying card, theres no guarantee that my message will be understood or not mislaid.

So maybe this is the end of the road as far as my curiosity is concerned.

If I ever get a random text message or email from its new owner I will let you know.

In the meantime, I am very much heartened by the tale that I read at the Little Green Blog, where Mrs Green was able to track her phone all the way to its new owner.  Do pop over and have a read, it really is heart-warming.

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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.

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My 5 year phone challenge eeek!

Im not sure whether this latest confession will demonstrate my inner lunacy or permanent state of wishful thinking, but eh oh, Ill show and tell and see what comes.  Id be interested in the debate.

The thing is, Ive just got a brand new spanking smartphone, an all singing and dancing top model iPhone.  Its been on my geeky-gadget list for the last 18 months and as my old phone began to fall apart / regularly freeze / randomly self-boot .... along with many other tedious failures, the seduction of the iPhone became more and more tempting, so much so that it looked as though finally it would make it to my Christmas list for 2011.

And hooray, it actually did arrive, but not quite as Id expected (therell be more on that later).  However, with such a frivolous addition to my gadgetry, it arrived with a new personal goal that will definitely challenge the way I think about about new technology, especially mobile technology.

You see, I am a bit of a gadget girl and since the introduction of smartphones that dont just keep you connected to the whole social-media universe out there, but come packed with video functionality and access to multimedia entertainment, I have found it harder to step back to the days when a phone was simply a phone.  I have wanted to keep pace with all the shininess that such a mini-computer in ones pocket can bring. 

My new iPhone will be the third smartphone Ive owned in five years - although admittedly the first one only gave up the ghost as a result of it being in my jeans pocket, when I saved my youngest son from a potential drowning incident a few years ago.

The second phone, its replacement, has been causing me nothing but bother for the last 15 months, mainly though collateral damage, but has also developed a very clunky feel about it compared to other touch screen technology.  Consequently, my shiny new acquisition already offers much hope of a more streamlined and much more enjoyable experience in keeping me connected to the outside world of work, rest and play.

But the challenge Ive set myself is to try and keep hold of this phone and keep it functioning for FIVE WHOLE YEARS!

I know Ive not set myself a very good track record so far.

But aside from my accident-prone ways and technological desire, I hope this self-imposed challenge will not only encourage me to focus on the longevity of possessions, but will also bring into focus the challenges we, as consumers, have in a constantly fast-moving technological world.  And this challenge is not new. For decades, built-in obsolence has been a key consumer issue as have opportunities for exciting applications only being realised as a result of hardware innovations becoming available.

And lets face it, I am grateful for such advances in technological science.  After all, watching movies on our smartphones would not be so gratifying if we had to plug in a portable DVD player to do so.

Of course, opinions vary.  There are many friends who have told me that Ive got no chance, mainly thanks to Apples proprietary systems as well as the companys speed of innovation and all round creator of consumer desire.

But then, there are others who say that this iPhone, with all its latest technology and mod cons should see me through the five year period quite easily. 

So I guess the proof will definitely be in the pudding -or rather the apple pie -  and Ill just have to wait and see.  But I am going to try damn hard, against a world of high-speed technological change, to remain satisfied and keep hold of this phone for five years.  And I will be delighted if I can do it.

But for those who know better than me, or indeed know me better than myself,  Id love to hear what you think.

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Disclaimer.  In the spirit of blogger openness, I feel it right to declare that my lovely new phone was a surprise thank you gift that came out of the blue from the folks at O2, as a token of appreciation for the free-time I dedicated a few months ago to brainstorming a whole host of campaign ideas for a phone recycling project thats coming up soon.  There will be more on that next week, when along with other bloggers who have now signed up for the campaign, I will be relinquishing my old phone for recycling and tracking to see where it goes.  And would you believe, for many reasons, I have never recycled a phone before.  So watch out for all that comes with that next week!

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Ring in the cash with your old phone

If youve got a drawer full of unused mobile phones hanging about your house, then youll love this website, which allows you to instantly compare the resale value of your old technology from up to 29 mobile recycling companies.

At RecycleMobilePhones.co.uk you simply search for the make and model of your old gadgetry and within seconds you can see which companies provide the highest price even if the phone is broken.  Useful eh, especially at this time of year, when you could be in line for an upgrade this Christmas. You just follow the instructions and send off your phone and youll soon receive your cash.  And if youre a generous type, the site even shows which companies allow you to donate the proceeds directly to charity.

I cant wait for the day when I get to swap my old Nokia N97 smartphone for some cash.  I missed the opportunity three months ago, when my mobile contract was up for renewal and I decided to stick with my old phone and save money instead of upgrading.  Typically, within weeks of that decision my phone started to play up, rebooting itself in a sporadic fashion combined with memory problems that stop text messages coming through, as well as blocking access to the Internet.

Now that I know I can get cash even for a phone that doesnt work properly, Ill be champing at the bit to send it off when I upgrade in 15 months time....thats if it lasts that long.  If not, Ill be sending it sooner so I can invest in a reliable carrier pidgeon to deliver my messages.

Its easy to think that just because a piece of technology is outdated, broken, or isnt working properly, that it no longer has value, but this site helps to show that even very old models can fetch in a couple of pounds.

But dont just take my word for it.  Go and see for yourself and check out what you could earn for recycling those mobiles that are just gathering dust at home. Take a quick gander at RecycleMobilePhones.co.uk and you might be pleasantly surprised.

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Blogger disclaimer:  This post has been sponsored by RecycleMobilePhones.co.uk as part of Karen Cannards fundraising activities, where the full proceeds have been donated to the EACH Treehouse Appeal to build a new childrens hospice in Suffolk.  The sponsorship arrangement has not impacted on the publishing of this post or the tone in which it has been written.

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