Bloggers! Win tickets to the Olympic Games with Coca Cola

Examples of Coca-Colas colour-coded recycling bins designed for London 2012

I hope all you bloggers with some waste-busting credentials out there have got your fingertips at the ready, because todays news is that Im judging a fantastic competition thats promoted by Coca-Cola as part of its Olympic Games Sustainability Challenge and which is inviting YOU to talk about my favourite topic.

REDUCING WASTE!

And the prize on offer is an exciting package featuring two tickets to the Olympic Games for 4th August, as well as travel and accommodation, all of which are provided by Coca-Cola as as an Olympic sponsor.


All you have to do is publish a blogpost about easy ways in which you are reducing waste in your household and link it to the competition blogpost at the Coca-Cola Website. 

I would love you to take part and share some inspirational and entertaining snippets of how you juggle your waste at home  - and seriously, I wouldnt be surprised if some of the entries did actually feature some snazzy juggling action.

For more information about the competition, go straight over to my blogpost at their website, and follow the instructions there. Ive included lots of ideas about ways in which you can take part.

But remember, to be in with a chance of winning, make sure you enter by the closing date which is midnight Friday 13th July.

And with any luck, if youre one of the winners, I will see you there.

I wont be difficult to spot, Ill be the one snapping photos of the colour-coded recycling bins as well as some of the other examples of waste reduction featured around the Olympic Park.  I may even drag along Shedwyn, my roving reporter from last summers 1000 bins campaign. After all, its right up her street.

Until then, good luck to all who enter. I cant wait to visit your blogs and be inspired by your talent.

Now, get ye gone from here and go over there instead.

http://CokeURL.com/karen

________________________________________________

Disclaimer: I will not be paid by Coca-Cola for launching, promoting and judging the Olympic Games Sustainability Challenge. However, I have been invited to attend the London 2012 Olympic Games along with some of the competition winners and a Coca-Cola representative as a thank you for working with them.

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Moreton Hall café helps customers reduce waste with their Keep Cups

Meet Lucy and Jess, business partners at The Coffee House, a popular café in the heart of Moreton Hall, which itself is a busy housing development on the edge of Bury St Edmunds.

When I dropped in with the family on Day 1 of Zero Waste Week, I warned them that Id start talking to them about ways in which they help customers reduce waste. I was particularly interested in the success of the Keep Cups that they sell, i.e. the reusable coffee cups, as shown in the photo below.

I noticed that theyd been selling these since the café opened in October last year. Priced at £7.99 for a small cup and £9.99 for the larger one, whenever a customer brings in their reusable cup, they receive 10% off the price of their drink.

The reusable cups have been a real success for the café.  Jess confirmed that theyve sold approximately 250 since they opened last autumn and normally have around 10 customers popping in with them each day.  As we were chatting I realised that I was holding up one of their customers whod dropped in for coffee and when I turned around, I couldnt help but notice that there in her hand was one of the reusable cups that wed been discussing.

(Charlotte, a Keep Cup customer)

Of course once the coffee discussion was over, my seven year old naturally brought my attention to his Zero Waste choice of the day....a selection of sweets from the sweetie jars on the counter.

The rest of his purchase wasnt quite ZW though.  Even though he declared hed try and reuse the straw from his small carton of orange juice and thatd hed be sure to recycle the little box, theres not a lot you can do with the protective plastic wrapper. However, that was negligible compared to the Capri Suns that he bought at the weekend and all round was pretty much of a success.  Im not sure about his older brother though, who insisted on the plastic straw to go with his favourite chocolate milkshake. Unless he reuses that a few times over, hes already behind in the rubbish stakes.


So if youre ever visiting Moreton Hall, whether its during Zero Waste Week or another time, be sure to pop into The Coffee House, where youll always get a very warm welcome and a discount if youve got your own cup.  And if youre a keen gardener, you can take away some free coffee grounds for your compost too.  Now that is a bargain!

The Coffee House, Moreton Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

More information about The Coffee House can be found via their Twitter stream @thecoffeehouse5 or their Facebook account.

If youre a regular coffee drinker whos looking for a replacement to disposable cups or run a café and are interested in saving landfill waste too, check out the reusable cups that are available at www.keepcup.com as well as the BYOcups that are sold by Onya. 

________________________________________________________
This post was written as part of National Zero Waste Week 2011, thats taking place between 5-11 September. The theme this year is Reducing waste away from home.  For further details visit http://myzerowaste.com/zero-waste-week-2011/

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My very first relationship with COMPOST!

As were slap bang in the middle of Compost Awareness Week (6-12 May), I thought Id delve into the archives of my memory cells and rustle up a few notes on my long standing relationship with compost.

For me, composting has been a normal part of life since my childhood in the Seventies. I have early memories of accompanying my grandmother on the trek from her kitchen to the compost heap, which was located in the chicken run.

Well it felt like a trek.  I was just five years old, and it was a large garden.

My sister and I spent a lot of time at my grandparents home and as we grew up, one of our little jobs was to take the kitchen waste to the compost heap, dodging the fearsome cockerel when we got there.

We soon realised the value of composting, not least because it was the perfect place to hide the evidence of our sneaky pea snaffling, as we entertained ourselves with many rounds of pea-pod Top Trumps.

And every so often, we would see our uncle standing in the middle of the heap, turning it and shovelling heaps of earth from the bottom, into a wheelbarrow, which hed then dig into the kitchen garden.

Soil from all those peelings! It seemed like magic.

It is clear that my early introduction to composting as an everyday part of life stayed with me.  I may have left the Welsh village where I grew up and spent the next decade hopping from student digs and shared houses, before settling down with my husband, but the minute we bought our first house in 1998, one of the first changes I made to the garden was to install a compost bin - one of those black plastic ones, which we bought through our local council.

When we relocated to our new home in Bury St Edmunds five years later, I discovered that St Edmundsbury Borough Council collected vegetable peelings & garden waste as part of its recycling service. This was 2003 and when registering for our brand spanking new wheelie bins, I suddenly got all defiant.  As I rejected the opportunity of adding a brown wheelie bin to our collection I recall making my stance clear...

"Theres no way the councils getting their hands on my compost!" were the words that fell from my mouth.

I cant help laughing at my over-protection position on my grass clippings and apple cores.  It wasnt as though I was even being particularly frugal.  We simply had an average sized garden that could easily accommodate a compost bin, and it just made more sense to compost at home and bung the finished contents under the odd shrub, instead of a bin lorry carting our peelings around the county to be managed elsewhere.

Nine years on and we now have a collection of three compost bins dotted discreetly around the garden, as well as a wormery, which is great for the odd scraps of cooked waste.  Well, I say discreet.  The plastic ones are tucked away, but the wooden beehive compost bin (pictured above) has become a very attractive feature of the garden and is located just outside the kitchen.

Many people feel discouraged from home composting because of the risk of vermin such as rats. Although this is a possibility in some areas, weve never had a problem.  The worst weve ever experienced was a mouse that decided to take residence, but was solved with a humane mousetrap.  I also had a squeamy squirmish scare with maggots on one occasion, as a result of something going in that shouldnt have, but some boiled water, covering the contents with newspaper and avoiding that compost bin for a week soon resolved the issue and it has never happened again.

As far as creating the right mix is concerned, Im no particular expert.  I just bung in all our scraps and remember to add odd pieces of cardboard, paper and garden clippings now and again.  If the results are sloppier than our efforts, I dont see it as a problem as the compost just gets buried into the existing earth anyway, enhancing it with all its extra nutrients.

Even though our garden is not very large, I still prefer our self-sufficient approach to managing our kitchen scraps. From a sustainability perspective, it seems far more sensible.  However, we have since compromised and added the councils composting service for our garden waste, which is plentiful in the Spring and throughout the Summer.

Although not quite as exciting as my own early memories of composting, I hope my children - currently aged 7 and 10 - will develop the same responsibility and awareness when they are older.  At least they already understand the process and a quick test this evening demonstrated that they know the kind of stuff that goes in the compost bin, even if they dont have that duty very often.

But theyd better look out because Compost Awareness Week has just inspired me to add compost duties to their list of jobs.

Cue evil laughter.

Mwahahahahahahahaha.

Mwahahahahahahahahaha!

Well its about time they made more of an effort.

And I know it wont just be rotten veg well be discussing. Im quite sure they will soon tell me that Im a Rotten Mother for making them do it.

I just hope that when they are my age they will come to thank me, and are just as grateful as I am to my late grandmother.

If youve never composted before and would like to find out more, visit www.homecomposting.org.uk and www.recyclenow.com/home_composting.

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Talking biogas green heroes with Kevin McCloud at Grand Designs Live

Kevin McCloud at Grand Designs Live. (photo copyright GDL)

If theres one event thats fast becoming a highlight of my annual calendar, its Grand Designs Live and the opportunity to a have a peek at Kevins Green Heroes. a collection of ten designers who have been handpicked by Kevin McCloud for their commitment to both sustainability and innovative ideas.

And this year didnt disappoint. From sustainably produced wallpaper to tiles, reclaimed wood furniture to rainwater harvesting, there is something to appeal to everyone who is interested in great eco-design.

For instance I love this gorgeous wallpaper by MissPrint, an Essex based business, which uses PEFC certified materials and non-toxic inks.

And I think Hendzel and Hunts chairs, made from reclaimed hardwood and Victorian floorboards, are just gorgeous. Id love them for my dining room.

But when it comes to products that can have a wide impact on waste reduction, the design that stood out for me this year is the Compo food waste digester, developed by Nottingham Trent graduate Oliver Ling.

Its sleek design makes it an attractive product for any kitchen and that is crucial for opening up the marketplace to those interested in better managing their food waste.  Not everyone has a local authority food waste collection and many people are simply not interested in the idea of bokashi bins or wormeries.  However, I can see a whole host of apartment-dwellers and gadget-geeks taking a keen interest in this.

What sets the Compo apart from other systems is that as well as creating well-digested compost, its key by-product is actually biogas. Stored in small canisters, an easy collection system is central to its design, allowing its owners to earn money from the fuel generated from their domestic food waste.

Of course the message to households should always be to reduce what they can, but a solution like this helps to manage residual food waste and turn it into something useful that benefits the individual, instead of carting it off in trucks.

As I declared my particular interest in this to Kevin McCloud, he tempers my excitement with the news that the Compo is still only a prototype.

"Green Heroes usually features products that are already available for consumers to buy," he confirms. "However I thought this was such a good idea, I had to include it."

And I am glad he did because I can really see a lot of potential here.

Having caught up with the designer, Oliver Ling, it became clear that the driver behind the product was his own passion in helping to tackle the food waste problem. The prototype was created as his final year project at university, where he undertook a lot of primary research analysing the contents of domestic rubbish bins.  This is further demonstrated in that the Compo is designed to be manufactured from recycled plastic derived from food packaging.

"I wanted to design something that was sustainable," Oliver affirms.  "In fact, I believe it is so important, every product designer should get involved with sustainability".

Designer Oliver Ling, at the Green Heroes stand at Grand Designs Live

I couldnt agree more. Designers have immense power to revolutionise the future waste landscape, either through designing-out wasteful and hard-to-recycle materials from their products or in developing new processes and infrastructures that manage our wastes better.

I was interested in Kevin McClouds view on this, especially as there is potential to develop more scaleable applications of the Compo.

And having watched his recent series of Man Made Home, which involved the construction of a cabin that enabled him to live off-grid, it was the localised production of biogas that particularly caught my attention.

Politely referring to it as "Episode 3", rather than "the one where you cooked on gas made from your own poo", the programme featured a visit to an Anaerobic Digestion plant, which incorporates the collection of dog poo and other materials to create a rich compost and biogas, capable of powering a small village.

Kevin wanted to apply this idea to his own cabin experience and in an entertaining fashion set about building an outdoor loo and biogas infrastructure to collect and process human wastes, supplemented by a good dollop of lion dung, which was retrieved from nearby Longleat.

"This isnt revolutionary," he insists. "And its not unproven. In India, for 150 years, people have been building biogas digester systems across the country and lots of villages now have them."

Behind the obvious fun involved in building his own off-grid cabin, he was actually keen to explore what was possible, discover what could work in the UK and consider which solutions could be scaled up.

"Id like it to go one step further and connect to the grid," he adds, "Especially as an average family can produce enough methane to cook all its food."

However, he doesnt envisage a future where households would have their own individual digesters and personally, despite my fascination for the subject, I feel a certain relief in that.

So what is the way forward?

Kevin tells me that the sensible way to do this is on a more ambitious scale, supporting several streets to divert waste from sewage systems into a local biodigester, which connects with the gas main to bring the energy source back into the home.

"Currently our infrastructure is national or regional," he says. "We could be considering all those services at a more local scale. Many sewage sites are starting to cover their tanks with methane collectors, but there is potential to create better self-sufficient communities."


"The infrastructures for collection already exist but we are very early in the process of transition and it will take philanthropists to influence and direct building self-sufficient communities."

"And where society once viewed those who once lived off-grid as green extremists, we are now considering them as true pioneers."


__________________________________________

Kevin McCloud is the ambassador for Grand Designs Live Birmingham and London.  For more information please visit www.granddesignslive.com

 

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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.

__________________________________________________

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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Affordable JARROW Alpha Lipoic Sustain 300 mg with Biotin 60 Tablets

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Sale BariWise Low Calorie Meals Case Vegetable Stew with Beef

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Teaming up with energyshare Hexam River Hydro

It is very rare that something pulls me away from talking about rubbish, but when I was asked to team up with an exciting hydro energy project thats competing for energyshare funding, it was far too interesting to miss.


Energyshare has been created by River Cottage and British Gas, jointly managing a campaign whereby communities across the UK have applied to energyshare to have their project funded. These communities have been shortlisted into a small number of finalists, all looking to have their project funded up to the value of £100,000.

The competition has also been supported by Channel 4’s Three Hungry Boy’s who spent five weeks touring the South West over the summer, visiting communities just like those shortlisted for energyshare funding. Trevor, Thom and Tim were challenged by River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall to live off the land and barter their way around the countryside, sourcing the energy for their electric vehicle from renewable technologies.

Today the finalists have been announced and campaigning has now begun in earnest to help generate public votes to choose the winning communities.


All the finalists are brilliant in their own way.  The community that I am supporting is Hexham River Hydro, a fabulous project which will create a100kW community hydro power generation scheme on the River Tyne in Northumberland.   It is a joint initiative by Hexham Community Partnership and Transition Tynedale and for anyone who, like me, has grown up or lived near such a similar powerful waterway, it is very easy to get excited about the possibilities of harnessing such energy.

However, this project is not just about generating renewable electricity, it is also about securing sustainable funding for social and economic regeneration and community activities in the market town of Hexham and its environs, as well as creating an education and awareness-raising tool for residents and visitors alike.

When I say, Im very excited about this project, I really mean it and cant wait to get to meet the people and the community behind it. Having spoken to team member Gillian Orrell, this afternoon, I am now looking forward to a trip up north to find out more about their hopes and plans. This project may seem that its about technology, but at the heart of it, its really about people and harnessing the energy around us, without impacting on the environment itself.  Its amazing to think that it will generate approximately 700MWh of electricity per year – enough to satisfy the average electricity consumption of 150 households, whicle reducing Hexham’s carbon emissions by approximately 400 tonnes CO2 per year.

With such localised energy supply, it is also deemed a project of national significance that will be of interest to other similar communities around the UK.

I will be able to report on my discoveries next week, but in the meantime, if you are over 13-years-old and have just two minutes to spare, please get voting at the energyshare website.  More information about Hexam River Hydro can be found at www.energyshare.com/hrh. So, please pop over and if you like what you see, please do hurry and vote for them.

Voting is open until 5pm on 3rd December with the opportunity to win one of 5 books that River Cottage is giving away every day to voters. Furthermore, for the energyshare Group that gets the most supporters voting, there is the chance to scoop a £1,000 cash prize.

So please do get involved now and visit energyshare.com/voting.

____________________________________________________________________

This is a sponsored opportunity on behalf of British Gas. However, all the authors views are her own.

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Madam would you like a dash of rubbish with that No thanks!

Thankfully, when eating out, I dont get asked that question.  It would put me right off my food.

However, if you take responsibility for your waste footprint, you really have to have your wits about you, to know that the drink youre consuming isnt going to result in the bottle ending up in landfill, along with any excess plate waste going to the dump.

Over the last few years, Ive become increasingly aware of the sustainability practices of my favourite eateries and yes I confess that I am much happier to frequent those that take this subject seriously, much more than those that dont, even if their motivation for reducing waste is simply financially motivated.  At the end of the day, I want to ensure that wherever I spend my money, I am not leaving a waste trail behind me.

And one of my favourite haunts is the visitor restaurant at Ickworth House, a National Trust property close to Bury St Edmunds, where we often go for family walks. Being a member of the NT, I am aware that the national organisation has championed a range of sustainability projects over recent years, from energy conservation to allotmenteering.  Therefore it was of no surprise when I met with the buildings premises manager last week, that catering waste was also high on the propertys agenda.

Ickworth House takes recycling very seriously and already uses the local councils trade recycling services, which enables them to recycle mixed plastics and aluminium as well as paper.  Glass bottle recycling was introduced a couple of years ago along with separated cardboard.  In the last six-seven months the kitchen has also started to compost whatever food waste it can, saving an estimated £500 per year from trade waste costs.  The compost is used in the grounds, to feed the Italianate Garden and the next project on the horizon is a rocket composting system, which will also enable the property to manage any cooked food waste.

Admittedly, Ickworth House is privileged to have such facilities, but any catering business can take steps to reduce waste, whether its buying into the local authority or private contractor recycling services, to divert cans, glass or plastic bottles or other packaging from its landfill waste bill.  Many services also now include the collection of food waste.  Depending on trade waste costs, these services should incur a saving and help increase profits. And if youre paying for a skip in collection service, a mini-compactor can help to reduce the number of collections.

Tackling catering waste is a major issue and one which brings many opportunities. The Sustainable Restaurant Association offers advice to the catering industry on how to reduce waste as well as improve other areas of sustainability, conducting audits and providing consultancy.  If businesses want to find independent solutions, they might want to consider reducing packaging at source, speaking to suppliers, or switching from single servings to refillable jars etc. 

For restaurants in London, signing up to the Too Good To Waste campaign and supporting customers who may want to take leftovers home with them is another way of reducing the food waste impact, as is, in some cases, reducing portion sizes. It would be great to have more of these campaigns rolled out regionally to raise awareness more locally.

Pubs and bars in the Soho area of London are also leading the way in reducing the number of plastic straws that go to waste.  Straw Wars is an independent campaign that encourages the community to think twice about single use disposable plastic and supporting establishments now only offer customers a straw if they really want one.  Again, this is a simple idea that could be adopted by towns and other cities across the UK.

Another idea that Ive seen being introduced more locally in my own town, include cafes such as Saints in Bury St Edmunds giving away its coffee grounds for customers to take home for composting.  The Coffee House, in Moreton Hall, also encourages "take-away" customers to use the Keep Cup, which they sell onsite and give a 10% discount on every top up.

So during this finale week of The Rubbish Diet challenge, do keep your eyes peeled for examples of good practice while you are out and about.  Reducing waste might just begin in the home, but our waste footprint follows us wherever we are.

If youve spotted any great ideas being implemented, then do please share them in the comments box below.

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Measure your recycling with the new Recyclometer

Measuring the impact of recycling is always a challenge, especially when trying to communicate the wider benefits of what is, lets face it, a pretty mundane household task.

However, during the summer, along with other bloggers, I was brought in to help road-test Coca-Colas Recyclometer, a brand new stats-crunching tool, which has been developed in association with WRAP.   After a few tweaks, the Recyclometer has now been officially launched, on the companys website and at Recycle Now. providing consumers with a means of calculating the wider impact of their recycling activity, by simply translating the action into energy saving data.

Saving energy and fuel resources are one of the key beneficial outcomes of recycling and the Recyclometer tool demonstrates the savings across a wide range of materials that youd find on your cupboard shelves.

For example, simply totting up the contents of my recycling actions today reveals that Ive saved enough energy to power a lightbulb for 12 hours.   Widen the impact of this nationally and the figures highlight that enough energy would be saved to power over 84,000 lightbulbs for a whole year.   Thats quite an incredible figure from just a few juice bottles, a can, our local newspaper, a breakfast cereal box and a loo roll tube.  It also demonstrates how wasteful it would be if I just bunged these into landfill.

To work out your own stats, just click on the image above.  Alternatively visit  the companys own website, where there are also links to the organisations waste-reduction actions, including lightweighting innovations, implementation of recycled materials and, more recently, their usage of plant-based fibres in plastic packaging.

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Tagging along with Hadleigh HWRC to the Awards for Excellence in Recycling Waste Management

The team from Hadeighs HWRC, FCC Environment & Suffolk County Council with BBCs Susanna Reid

Yesterday, I had the real pleasure of tagging along with the Suffolks Household Waste Recycling Centre team to LetsRecycle.coms Awards for Excellence in Recycling & Waste Management. 

The awards, now in their 10th year, and presented by the BBCs Susanna Reid, were held at the Landmark Hotel, London, a beautiful setting to mark the successes and excellence of the recycling and waste management industry, the kind of things that go on behind the scenes that help the UK recycle more and reduce wasted resources.

Ive been singing the praises of Suffolks recycling facilities as part of the BBC Radio Suffolk Rubbish Diet, so it was great to hear that the Hadleigh HWRC was in the running for the category of Community Amenity Site of the Year,

With composting and recycling rates that exceed 90%, Hadleigh HWRC, managed by Suffolk County Council and FCC Environment, has been identified as Suffolk ’s top performing site, with successful and effective day-to-day operations providing an enhanced service to users.

Both Suffolk County Council and FCC Environment have engaged with local third sector organisations including the Ipswich Furniture project and ‘Re-cycle’ both of which are charities that have diverted items from landfill.  Ipswich Furniture Project provides an outlet for furniture and crockery, with ‘Re-Cycle’ giving unwanted cycles a new life.  This has enabled improvements on the recycling performance within the existing site footprint and moves more of the materials up the waste hierarchy, with almost no environmental impact.

The site only has two members of staff during the week and three at weekends to manage all waste streams and maintain the high recycling rate and excellent customer service. Much of the success of the sites recycling rate is attributed to the site staff and their relationship with the public. 

But these awards always bring stiff competition and this year the team was up against the Witchford HRC, in Cambridgeshire and Witley Community Recycling Centre in Surrey.

And the winner was...... well...  sadly not the team from Hadleigh HWRC on this occasion, but another worthy winner, Witley CRC, which is part of a network of 15 facilities managed by Sita, and which has been redesigned with sustainability at its heart and strong community engagement in its development.

Ooooh, so close!  They may not have won at yesterdays event but being a finalist in the awards and one of the top performing Household Waste Recycling Centres in the UK, Hadleigh HWRC is most definitely a winner in my eyes and it was great to chat to Mel & Terry (pictured above with Susanna Reid) about their stories of what its like being on the ground at one of our countys facilities. The passion for what they do is so easy to see.

Once again, in a good way, it felt like I was a bit of a recycling groupie following the band, and a very successful one at that.  Seriously, when you witness how the awards nominees are changing the future of waste, their efforts, successes and enthusiasm really does rub off.

With wide-ranging categories such as High Street Recycling Champion, Commercial Recycling Champion, Best Community Recycling Initiative and Recycling Businesses of the Year, I wonder if next year, well see more entries from Suffolk.  After all, from our own Greenest Suffolk awards and some of the great things coming out of the BBC Radio Suffolk Rubbish Diet, I reckon our county could offer up some stiff competition for next years awards.

Huge thanks to Letsrecycle.com for letting me come along to support our fantastic team from Suffolk.  There were some great winners and finalists, all which can be seen either on the website or by following the updates on Twitter, using the hashtag #awardsforexcellence.

 

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How I Lost Fat Fast In 3 Weeks With This Weight Loss Diet

Are you looking to lose weight quickly? Are you sick of all the scams out there like diet pills and infomercial products that promise the world but don’t deliver? Then I have the solution for you! 

Everybody says that weight loss is an extremely difficult task that takes months and sometimes years, and that you have to eat terribly boring foods to see any results. I know for a fact that this is not true because I lost over 20 pounds in only 21 days using a secret diet I found online.

I was in the exact same situation you are in now. I was overweight, lazy, and hated my body. I didn’t feel sexy, or slim, and I hated buying new clothes because I knew I always had to buy extra large size. I had tried all the diets out there – from the low carb diet, the sugar free diet, the cabbage soup diet, the mango diet, the acai berry diet, and frankly, none of them worked for me. I had tried going to the gym regularly to exercise but honestly, when you are a full-time mother with 3 kids, who has the energy to workout every day for hours on end? Then, I discovered The 3 Week Diet and my life changed.

I was doing some searching on Google one day for “extreme diets”. You know, not the types of diets that take months of slow, boring progress, but the “rapid” diets that work fast. I came across an article by a world class nutritionist who said he had tried a program called The 3 Week Diet and was able to lose 1 lb of body fat a day for 3 weeks by following it. 

I could hardly believe it. 1lb of fat per day? I didn’t think it was possible. My goal that I had been trying for years to achieve was to lose 20 pounds. And this diet was promising that I could achieve that in only 20 days! All those years of feeling frustrated and disgusted by my body would be over in an instant. I visited The 3 Week Diet and watched the video where the doctor explained how he was able to create a scientific method to burn the fat fast, without using diet pills or exercise. I had never heard someone explain a diet like this before, but everything he said made 100% sense to me.

I quickly joined The 3 Week Diet and begun the process of losing weight quickly. Day 1 of following the diet, I lost half a pound of fat. Not bad. Day 2 on the diet and I lost a massive 2 lbs of fat! By the end of the first week I had lost near 10 lbs of pure body fat. My stomach was slimmer, my butt was firmer, and I could actually fit comfortably into a nice pair of jeans!

I followed the diet for the entire course of 3 weeks, and by the end of it, I had lost a staggering 25 pounds! That was more than I had expected! Friends and family were commenting how much weight I had lost, and I was getting looks from young men half my age! I had never felt healthier or happier in my entire life. I could now wear any outfit I wanted, I felt more confident. My husband was so pleased and excited. He loved my new body and our sex life improved dramatically! 

I owe it all to The 3 Week Diet. It changed my life and it allowed me to lose so much fat off my body without having to starve myself or do strenuous exercise. It was honestly so easy to follow and keep up with.

The 3 Week Diet is an extreme diet for rapid weight loss that shows you how you can lose over 20 pounds of pure body fat in just 3 weeks. Whether you want to lose weight off your belly, hips, butt, or thighs, The 3 Week Diet is fastest way to lose weight quickly without diet pills or exercise. Speed up your metabolism and discover the secret foods you need to eat to burn the fat off fast with this diet used by A list celebrities and professional athletes. Start shedding the pounds today by visiting
The 3 Week Diet now!

                                          

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If it werent for you meddling kids Id have gotten away with it

Toasthenge on Beans

Now that Ive packed them off to school,  I have to confess that I can finally breathe a little easier when it comes to Zero Waste Week.

Of course (and for the first time without even a hint of sarcasm) I am already missing my little darlings.  Theyve been great company over the summer, but geesh do they sometimes give me trouble on the food waste front!

And most people with kids will know the battle.

Take the other day for instance, I thought I was onto a winner by serving up Toasthenge on Beans - my historically successful reversal of Beans on Toast, in which they are guaranteed to eat the crusts.  A throw-back to when the kids were little, its success has been proven time and time again and even at the ages of 9 and 11 its still an easy favourite and a guaranteed zero waste coup...

.... until...  the moment when I served up lunch on Tuesday and my 9yo announced that he wasnt actually hungry because hed only gone and helped himself to a chocolate spread sandwich just 30 minutes earlier.

I admire his self-sufficiency... but AARGH!

Id already had a full plate of beans with toast, his brother had his own Toasthenge and my husband turned his nose up saying... "well, you know its not my kind of thing!"

No way was he bending his baked bean phobia to become my Zero Waste hero.

So, I took a page out of my mothers book!

"If you dont have it now,  youll eat it at dinner," I grumbled, then remembered dinner would be a much more delicious home-made fish pie with vegetables, so my threats instantly felt like an own goal!

Trying to reduce food waste when youve got kids is a challenge, especially when they go through their fussy stages, and I remember from my own childhood how I hated breadcrusts and many of the vegetables that the adults liked.  Mealtimes used to sometimes feel like an endurance test, especially with my late mothers waste not want not mantra, which she regularly served up with a full plate of nosh that looked like it was meant for climbing not eating.  I could never complain that we werent well fed and am now very grateful for her dedication to home-cooking.

Maybe thats why I find myself more flexible these days.  I want my children to enjoy everything they eat and balance it to their own appetites too, trying to offer a healthy range of meals, which they can serve themselves and have seconds if they then wish.

But I also want them to be adventurous in their tastes and approach to food, and unless managed carefully this can easily become an enemy of zero waste ambitions, especially with a pre-teen who has his own thoughts about how adventurous he wants to be and sees fruit and vegetables as the adversary to his happy status-quo.

Now you can imagine my evil joy last Halloween when he saw me making pumpkin soup.  As he looked on with intrigue he immediately turned his nose up at it, saying he really didnt like the look of it.  However, several hours later, and without complaint, he lapped up a bowlful... which Id served up to him and his brother as a pasta sauce.

So, when it comes to encouraging kids to join you in your zero waste ambitions and maintain a healthy diet, there is some hope!  I cant claim to be an expert, more of an intrepid explorer, but if its of any help, heres whats worked for us.


1. Keep offering up those vegetables, but tell them to help themselves rather than filling their plate for them with something that they may not be likely to finish.  Whats left in the serving bowl can then be used as ingredients for other meals.

2. Soups are fab for hiding nutritious veg.  If they dont like soup, serve it as a pasta sauce or mix it up with rice.  Stir fries are good too, especially as they introduce exciting flavours.

3. Smoothies and milkshakes are a great alternative for picky fruit eaters.

4. And have you discovered Fruity Pasta?  Use up grapes, apples and even chopped up orange segments to add to pasta.  Grate over some cheddar cheese and youll have yourself an instant taste explosion that even adults will like.

5. Finally, be creative and follow in the footsteps of the marketeers, which can be particularly helpful for the younger ones.  Pirate Island - featuring mash, gravy and a variation of veg and diced meat - was always more appealing to our younger diners than the more unadventurous sounding  Sunday Roast.

We still get some plate waste but much less than I think we would if we didnt move with the ebb and flow of their changing appetites.  I also think its important for them to know why what they eat is so important.

While my husband reminds them about the importance of the five-a-day message,  I will occasionally throw in the economical and moral issue of food waste - not in a nagging parental ambush kind of way, but in a way that enables them to at least understand the wider context.

So, yes,  if it hadnt been for those meddling kids - or rather the one who helped himself to a sandwich - I wouldnt have had any food waste this week.  That Toasthenge would have been eaten, as planned and without grumble.

But thankfully stuff like that doesnt go to landfill.  Oh no! I made a sad attempt to rescue the cold beans when I returned from a late meeting that evening, but I couldnt bear the soggy cold toast, so Ive since fed that serving of Toasthenge to my wormery, along with a couple of slices of defrosted bread that suddenly developed a case of mouldy measles in yesterdays humid heat.

And of course, that bread would have been used up for Beans on Toast, if Mr C had welcomed that for lunch.

So, I suppose I cant put all the blame on the kids.

And as for that bread, I should have just left it in the freezer just that little bit longer.

When it comes to our food waste tally, we are definitely all in it together.

____________________________

More information about Zero Waste Week 2013 can be found at www.zerowasteweek.co.uk.  Do sign up and make your pledge.  In return, youll get some great tips.

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Beyond our bins An inside peek at the UKs largest waste exhibition RWM with CIWM

Having delivered a presentation last year at the countrys largest waste management exhibition, I was keen to revisit RWM with CIWM and have a decent peek at whats really happening beyond our bins.

It looks like I wasnt the only one!.

The star attraction was not quite the latest wheelie bin that teleports your waste to the nearest recycling centre, but the rather marvellous Professor Brian Cox, who, thinking about it, could surely one day make that kind of magic happen.

He was, unsurprisingly, a teeny bit popular, so I tried another route in...

...but for want of a pair of stilts and an invisibility cloak, I failed, like a balloon that had popped too soon!

So very near to the particle recycling party, but yet so far.

And sadly very much out of earshot.

Thankfully, with the industry press fairy godmothers at the helm, I can still share the words of the prof, who not only teased the audience of waste professionals with the concept of space disposal, but on a serious note, reasserted that the Earths resources are rare and must be protected.

But, I must confess I didnt trek all the way to Birminghams NEC, just to see the professor.  I wanted to get a picture of how the waste industry is planning to helping householders and businesses waste less.  I soon got the impression that despite there still being many hurdles, those involved in the waste stream are ready to face these challenges, hurl themselves forward and keep improving targets.

Of course, the issue of targets is an interesting one and I was intrigued to discover what a panel of thought-leaders from the industry felt about the realities of Zero Waste.

Featuring senior representatives from APSRG, CIWM, WRAP and SLR Consulting, the message came over quite clearly that the view of panellists was that we will never quite reach zero waste to landfill.

However, it was also discussed that great strides towards a zero waste economy are actually possible and regardless of never being able to hit zero, the benefits along the route are really worth the journey.

Maybe it is the optimist in me, but I would like to think that the members of the panel were all holding onto a secret hope that even though they said well never hit the magic zero, we will one day reach the rather cheeky figure of a 99.99% waste reduction rate. Okay, maybe Im a tad extreme, perhaps for now Ill settle happily at 98%.

After all, this is the same panel which acknowledged that in 1980 the industry didnt even aspire to a 5% recycling rate and would have laughed at targets as high as 50%, a figure that in many areas is currently being met.

Another 32 years of innovation and rethinking will present a different picture, I am sure of it.

The industry already speaks of waste as now being a matter of logistics, with businesses such as Stobart  taking an interest.  It also acknowledges how it needs to be better at communicating the opportunities of designing out waste with designers and manufacturers, a process that really it shouldnt fear.  Better product design will bring better recyclate, which can be more easily streamed, fetching greater financial value in a properly managed circular economy. 

Elsewhere, we are also seeing stronger partnerships between recycling companies and manufacturers, such as Coca-Colas joint venture with Eco Plastics.  From the retail perspective, Sainsburys is seeking to work with local authorities to roll-out better recycling facilities at the companys stores, which will include mixed plastics recycling as well as banks for small electricals.  As for local authorities, those in charge of Household Waste Recycling Centres are increasingly seeking partners in the third sector to help push reuse, as illustrated by this recent example from Buckinghamshire

As for kerbside innovations its great to see that developments in wheelie bin design, as well as collection vehicles, can now enable easy and smarter recycling opportunities, which offer better quality recyclables for the end markets.

However, for the industry to maximise its efficiency, it is also in the area of consumer education, where the waste sector needs to urgently innovate.

We can aspire to having the best recycling facilities in the world, yet if the materials needed to support that zero waste economy still end up in landfill or incinerators, the industry might as well pop on its slippers and smoking jacket and spend the next few decades staring into the flames of the comparatively unimaginative energy from waste.

The waste reduction and recycling messages must not just continue as they, they must be stronger and more innovative to capture the imaginations and support of a greater public, to inspire individuals and organisations to increase participation.

Independent businesses need to better understand the process of diverting their landfill waste to a recycling service, which many currently see only as a fincancial burden rather than the economic incentive that diversion offers.  And community leaders, should be encouraged to create zero waste plans that support their local areas, through recycling incentives and third-sector benefits.

Wherever EfW facilities exist, recycling messages need to be stronger still, and yes, I do recognise the irony.

There are so many fantastic innovations taking place that the waste sector has a huge story to tell.  Yet, the headlines which hit the mass media are normally those that knock the recycling process, leaving local authorities to work harder at the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle message to battle the bad news stories.

It is encouraging to hear that industry journalists, such as the strong editorial team at MRW, are now forging closer links with the national media to help bring, into the public arena, news that would have once remained solely in the sector.

For it is the national media that has a key role to play in helping to change our behaviour.  As well as the "how to" advice that comes from local authorities and the Recycle Week campaigns organised by WRAP, we also need innovative features to entertain magazine & newspaper readers, TV viewers and social-media users.

Features that close in on exciting technologies, quirky recycled products, popular economics and science, or even delving into the odd celebrity bin!  It really is time for the sector to find its place in modern and popular culture.

Just imagine if someone like Clare Balding got uber-excited about waste reduction and let the cameras follow her rubbish, recycling rates would probably double by December, and if she did a double-act with Prof Brian Cox, wed be hitting zero waste by the end of the decade.

Now theres an idea.

I rather like that.

Ill bear that in mind as I wander back to my washing-up!


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For an excellent industry overview of the highlights of the RWM with CIWM, visit Edie Waste and LetsRecycle.

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Paint with a Purpose for Leukemia Lymphoma Society

Im so super proud of my sister, Tori, for a goal she has been training for!!! Shell be joining many others in this years Nations Triathalon in Washington D.C., this September. Shes racing in honor of a patient that she had a couple years ago when she was working at Childrens Medical Center. This sweet little boy will be completing his last round of treatments this September as they race.
In additon to training for the swim in the Potomac River, her run and bike past the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and many other spectacular landmarks.....shes also been raising money for the event that is helping towards the cure for blood cancer. One really fun opportunity is coming up at Painting with a Twist in Dallas. 60% of the proceeds will go to the Leukemia / Lymphoma Society. Its so fun! You go with a group of girlfriends, take a bottle of wine, and they provide your canvas, paints and guidance as they walk you through your own painting. To read more about Painting With A Twist and sign up for a fun night of painting for a great cause go to www.paintingwithatwist.com

Sign up and go with us next Thursday, August 18th :)

The following information is from their website....

August 2010 PAINT WITH A PURPOSE will focus on the family

In our ongoing commitment to give back to the community, Corks N Canvas and Painting with a Twist is proud to sponsor a monthly fund raising class – Paint with a Purpose. Corks N Canvas and participating Painting With A Twist locations will again host a Paint with a Purpose night in Augst. Proceeds from Paint with a Purpose in July will be donated to local non profit organizations in honor of families. Already some of our designated non profit partners are the St. Tammany Professional Womens Scholarship fund and Playworks. We will be painting SUMMER PAISLEYS To sign up to participate visit www.corksncanvas.com or www.paintingwithatwist.com.

"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
-Matthew 18:20

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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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Peppermint Milkshakes with Small Change

My wonderful friend, Kristin Ingram, shared a website with me (www.smallchangedallas.org) that Ive fallin in love with. It provides service opportunities to children and families in the city of Dallas and surrounding areas. Last week, the Small Change organization put together an afternoon of making peppermint milkshakes at the North Dallas Gildas Club for cancer patients. They explained to the kids that the medicine these patients have to take will usually give them an upset stomach and make them feel sick. Peppermint is good for nausea and will help them to feel better. They got to crunch up all the peppermints, scoop ice cream into the blender and fill cups to place in the freezer. Greyson and Riley also had fun decorating lots of GET WELL cards to leave for them. I left the Gildas Club feeling so thankful.... thankful for the small opportunity to do something for these families that are having to endure so much and so thankful for the health of my children and family!
To hear more about Small Change, click on this link to see some recent news coverage on the difference they are making!

http://cbs11tv.com/local/volunteering.small.change.2.1438401.html

"Live a Life of Love."
-Ephesians 5:2

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Liquid diet anyone with a side order of sodium

Image via Wikipedia

SOUP/BROTH

I was making myself broth everyday in the first couple of weeks for some extra substance, but with the salt, it was holding back progress.

SO, since there are things that youre allowed on the diet, if you have a tendency to retain water, then just stay away from it.

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