Cardboard Christmas in Shrewsbury and Ludlow

Transition Town Shrewsbury are doing Cardboard Christmas again! The Cardboard bring banks in town wont cope over Christmas and not everyone can trek up to the HRC Please hang onto your Christmas Cardboard and bring it to one of our cardboard collection points: United Reform Church, Abbey foregate, Red Barn Pub, Longden road, Spar Precinct, Castlefields and Riversway Church, Lancaster road. Sites will be operating between 9am and 2pm on Saturday 5th January 2013. Please don’t landfill your cardboard – bring it to us! All proceeds will go to Severn Hospice, Hope House and Friendly Neighbours. For more information phone Ali on 07972 858313 or email alison.thomas08@gmail.com If you would like to collect on your street give us a ring or if you are uinable to reach any of the cardbaord collection point – we can give you bags and collect from you. If you would like to volunteer on the day – give us a shout – all welcome!

Using your loaf! Bread and Butter Pudding Bag in the freezer

Just been speaking to one of our Rubbish Diet families - Katy and Wilf, with a neat solution to the end of a loaf problem - you know when the last slice gets too dry to toast. They have come up with the Bread and Butter Pudding Bag in their freezer and they just add the odd slice and then when they have enough they defrost it and celebrate with a delicious bread and butter pudding. Great stuff

Swapping my 240 litre wheelie for slim-line version

As I struggled to get my blue wheelie bin past the car in the drive last week I had a thought - the Rubbish Diet has reduced my rubbish so much that I don't need a great big wheelie bin any more! So I contacted Shropshire council to see if I can swap my 240litre bin for a slim line version. Apparently I can - so hopefully very soon I will be getting my smaller bin. It will take up less space on the drive and will be easier to move about. Oh the joys of slimming my bin!! So far the benefits have been: No more smelly bin as we have stopped wasting food, No more panic about missing the bin men as it's no big deal if I have to wait 4 weeks for a refuse collection, We are saving money by planning our meals to avoid waste, And I am saving the council on landfill tax as more and more of our stuff is getting recycled. And I feel like the environmental impact of our household is getting smaller as we begin to use resources more wisely and waste less stuff. Determined to keep a lid on waste this Christmas! Best wishes Ali

InSinkerators for food waste means zero collection cost

From the Shropshire waste blog: Shrewsbury sinks food waste An national study has been launched in Shrewsbury with funding from the Local Government Association. The project will investigate the impact of Food Waste Disposers which are being fitted in the new David Wilson Homes development, Riverside Meadows, on the site of the old Shrewsbury Town football stadium. Philippa Roberts from local environmental consultants Low and Behold who are managing the project explained, “Waste water treatment works like the one in Shrewsbury use Anaerobic Digestion to process their sewage. This same technology can be used to process food waste; producing renewable energy in the process.” The Food Waste Disposers supplied by Insinkerator UK are electrically powered units which are plumbed into kitchen sinks. They grind food waste into tiny particles which can then simply wash down the sink. This will enable the residents to send their food waste for anaerobic digestion without the need for it to be collected. As well as making it hygenic and easy for the residents to cut down on what goes in their bins, this project will also help to produce renewable energy, reduce waste to landfill and thus potentially make huge financial sense. The Council spends millions of pounds of taxpayers money collecting and disposing of waste each year and with around one-fifth of all domestic waste being food waste it makes sense to look at all available options to tackle this. In particular in flats, waste storage and collection can be difficult and some dont have access to a garden for home composting so food waste will generally go in the bin and end up going to landfill. This project is providing alternative means of managing this food waste which can be more sustainable, more cost-effective and simpler for the residents. It will be really interesting to see how this study goes - I imagine bones might cause a few problems in the grinder. can anyone join in?

Christmas challenges on the Rubbish Diet

Feeling fairly daunted about trying to keep a lid on consumption over Christmas - any tips would be gratefully received. Here are a few things I am going to try and do.... Christmas cards: • It is so easy to buy charity cards and those made from sustainable sources – and sometimes I even make it in time to go to the charity Christmas card shop in St Marys Church!! • In our office we agree with work colleagues not to send cards but to put £2.00 in a pot to support a charity instead • We are famous in our family for keeping all our Christmas cards with the intention of making present tags and new cards - we do make a few but probably better to take all your cards to Marks and Spencers after Christmas for Woodland trust Christmas presents • One job this weekend is to give the charity shops a Christmas present by having a clear out - this feels like a present for me as well as we declutter a bit! • No doubt I will be looking for a special reuse gift while I'm dropping off the stuff! (must make sure I come home with less though!) • I love to give my family OXFAM gifts like latrines, water, chickens or school meals - presents that don't clutter up their house, produce no packaging, don't need batteries and have a practical, positive impact in the world! • At Christmas I love going to the Fairtrade Shop in town - beautiful things and food that taste FAIRLY good!! • It's great to be given gifts of time - dog walks, promises of house work assistance, cooking once a week! I wonder if that will happen this year - I might have to drop a few hints! Wrapping paper • My challenge is not to buy any wrapping paper at all as my "it'll come in corner" is taking over the whole room! I also have to use all that shiny chocolate wrap to decorate paper - I know this is just sending my rubbish to someone else's but at least the stuff is REUSED before it hits the bin. • I found this guide to make a present box which even I could manage with quite pleasing results! http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-gift-box-from-paper-without-glue-or-/ • I also have some pretty pieces of material that I can wrap things in. Christmas lunch • We are going to my mum's for Christmas lunch. It is always great fun to cook together and my boys eat loads - however - we have to coordinate to make sure we don't both buy stuff - panic food buying is a sure fired way to food waste in the bin. • Christmas tree dilemma - what should we do? plastic or real? Christmas Rubbish challenge • Having been on the Rubbish Diet for 6 weeks now, we will be trying not to overload our bin at Christmas. I dread the packaging - but never fear because as long as it isn't polystyrene it should be recyclable. Anticipating visitors makes me realise that my compost bin is pretty full already. Shropshire Council www.shropshirewaste.org.uk are selling them at £16 each and get second half price - does anyone want to buy one with me? I will be saving all our cardboard for Cardboard Christmas on 5th January! - got a dumpy bag out side to store it. Let me know if you would like a bag or can volunteer with us on the 5th. Christmas electricity Can I have Christmas lights? Please..... I think as long as they are LED they use very little electricity am I right? Hoping we packed them away carefully last year so they will be in good working order for this year. Found 3 sets of lights in Rubbish sort yesterday - if you find yours don't work - you can take them to a WII bank - there is one at HRC and another at Red Barn Pub on Longden Road. How do you keep a lid on the bin over Christmas? Best festive wishes ali

5 weeks into Rubbish Diet Shropshire and .....

Well we had a good chat last night - only a few people were able to make Rubbish Diet meeting but a big welcome to Gill, Katharine's mum who is now on board with us. The feedback from you all has been great over the last 5 weeks .... James is managing to reduce each week and was down to 520g for week 3 - any more data James? Tina has noticed a huge reduction in volume and is homing in on those awkward items. Howard brought up a really good point - we both realised very early on that getting down to one plaster was not an option for us. BUT both our households have managed to reduce volume by three quarters and weight by at least 50% from where we started. Does it matter if we don't get down to a plaster? My feeling is that we are showing that without wearing a hairshirt we can reduce our waste significantly and still make a difference. Shropshire is already doing quite well when you compare average bin weights - 16.4kg per household per fortnight with national averages. The average household size is 2.4 people in our area which makes an average of 6.8 kg per person per fortnight. The Shropshire rubbish dieters have completely smashed those figures! Even when things go slightly wrong our fortnightly weights are way lower than these averages for example, Anna with 3 adults in her house has just turned in a weight of 1.21 kg compared with an average of 20.4 kg for a fortnight. My first fortnight weighed 5.4 kg for 5 people instead of an average 34 kg!! Last night we talked about how the process is making us change behaviour.... Lots of discussion about leaving black trays on the shelves - Anna left a bargain on the shelf because it was in a black tray And we agreed that it is ok to not feel guilty about everything! It's ok to eat crisps and catfood in foil-lined packaging occasionally! Overall, people seem to have found the process interesting, a challenge and rewarding - my highlight has been putting the wrong bins out and it being no big deal! Incidently, 4 of my neighbours tried to tell us that we had got it wrong - they were so worried that we would be left with overflowing refuse for another fortnight! little did they know!!! Would love to hear your highlights - and Katy is devising a simple online survey for us to put down our thoughts. I am really glad to have made myself and my family go through this process and thrilled that you guys have done it too!! We have proved to ourselves that it is possible and indeed straightforward to slim your bin in Shropshire. So armed with the findings of our trial I am really keen to roll it out to more people in the New Year. People thought we should produce a ten point guide to the Rubbish Diet Challenge The Guide would start with all the benefits: No more smelly bins No more worries about missing the bin men Saving money by not wasting food Less money spent on bin liners! Council Tax going further if less has to be spent on landfilling stuff As well as the overall impact of using resources more wisely saves energy, saves landfill space and saves raw materials All leading to a happier planet! Then we can take the Rubbish Diet challenge to different people... Tina and I are thinking about trying to get Meole Brace School on board in the New Year. Gill is thinking about getting her choir on board Katharine had a great idea of taking it to a Young Professional Forum Could you get a friend, a neighbour, work colleagues on board - or would your club, guide pack or football team be up for a challenge? Have a think and let me know if you have any ideas, suggestions, comments or bin weights.... Many thanks and best wishes ali

Veolia Advent Calendar

Just heard about this ..... Watch your Waste-line this Christmas Check out the Veolia Shropshire Advent Calendar www.veoliashropshireadventcalendar.co.uk "Count down the days until Christmas with our waste and recycling advent calendar. Veolia Environmental Services and Shropshire Council have launched an online waste-themed advent calendar – which is perfect for helping Shropshire residents stay green this Christmas and watch their ‘waste’-lines! Every day throughout December, until Christmas Eve, there will be a new helpful hint about reducing waste this Christmas, or a mind-boggling fact about just how much we use and throw away throughout the festive period." So far so good..... What motivates you? When you hear a shocking fact about waste does it make you want to produce less waste? Maybe, you prefer to be part of the solution - so hearing about how well we are doing as a community gives you that incentive to work even harder at waste reduction? I like to know what difference recycling is making - how much energy we save, how much space in landfill we save and how many raw materials we save I would love to know what motivates you to slim your bin thanks ali

Rubbish Diet Shropshire are meeting up 3rd December 7pm

Well the Rubbish Diet Shropshire group have been going since the 25th October and by all accounts we are all still on track with minor diversions from bin slimming caused by dogs, cats and children that don't seem to understand the concept! For all those who would like to come and meet a few Rubbish Dieters - find out what all the fuss is about and join us for a mince pie please come to the Hobbs Room, Shrewsbury Library, 7.00pm on Monday 3rd December. We will be celebrating the loss of all those collective kilogrammes and sharing information on how we think we can sustain the slimmest bins in Shropshire! Hope to see you there Best wishes ali

Bin confusion in Shrewsbury!

Just got back from recycling at the Ludlow Medieval Christmas Fayre - a fantastic event set inside the beautiful Ludlow Castle!! We had a fine time squelching around in the mud and bin diving but.... we managed to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill dramatically. We first worked at the event in 2011 - in 2010, the event had sent 37 skips to landfill - last year we reduced this to 7 simply by putting in a waste separation system and capturing recyclable materials. This year all the event landfill waste went into 2 mini skips - a great result given the very wet conditions. It will be a couple of days before I know weights. Anyway - that's just to explain why I haven't been blogging this past week. So what was happening at my house while I was away? well, being quite a control freak and obviously totally obsessed by rubbish I was a little concerned about whether we could adhere to the Rubbish Diet without me standing over the bin. However, imagine my delight when on Tuesday morning - bin day - my husband put out the recycling instead of the refuse because there was hardly anything in the bin and he thought it must be a recycling week!! www.shropshirewaste.co.uk On closer inspection there was one bag in the bin full of sweet wrappers from the boys bedrooms and the kitchen bin contents weighed 2.4 kg. In the past it would have been a disaster to miss the bin men - but under the Rubbish diet it's no big deal - no fear of having an over flowing bin and no foul smelling rubbish because there's no food waste in it! So it seems that my family are quite happy to keep on with the rubbish diet even if I am not here and treading lightly with regard to waste is getting easier and easier.

Some Shropshire bin slimmers' results

Thank you to everyone who is slimming their bin with us this November! We asked people to take a photo of their rubbish on bin day - then use that day as the first day of the rubbish diet and then weigh each bag as it goes into the wheelie bin. Now we worked out that the average weight of refuse per household in Shropshire is 16.4 kg. So far we have had the following results: 1.3 kg 2 x adults household 2.45 kg 2 x adults household 3.05 kg 3 x adults household 5.4 kg 5 people and a dog 15.0 kg average 4 people and a dog Awaiting results from another 12 households who are taking part. Here are some of the difficult items left in the bin: laminated paper, cheese rind, old fimo, fish skins/chicken bones, inside of a chocolate box ( the goldy bit that the chocs go in), toothpaste tube, toothbrush that had already been used for cleaning, coffee/crisp packets - foil lined packets, DIY - empty paint pots, old paint brush, painty/spirity newspaper. Here are some of the problems that set you back: "My first fortnight was an unmitigated disaster.  Baseline 2kg for the fortnight.  Now up to 15kg.  More people in house -  daughter and boyfriend for 5 nights, my brother and his wife for 2.  That makes it up to an average of 4 people in the house from our normal 3.  Problem areas: -          Food waste -  fridge too full, me too busy, Dad giving me food he’d overbought just on/over its use by, both of us buying salad on the same day, food no longer fit to eat wasted chucked in its packets!! -          Broken crockery -          Neighbours large dog using our lawn as a toilet Onward and upward and yes food waste the focus.  And maybe visitor training? Questions:  what can I do with a broken mug?  What can I do with backpack on which zips are bust? Solutions:   Bag in freezer for stale bread -  the bread and butter pudding bag;  big carrier bags for film and black pots; planning our meals (breakthrough) and cooking stuff that will do three days meals  -  veg bake for me, chicken for the carnivores. So the rubbish diet is not all plain sailing - you do need a good run at it and it is easy to come off the rails occasionally. However - if we manage the bin slim for even 50% of the time we will be making a real difference to the waste that goes to landfill - and our council tax will go further and we will be saving money by not wasting food! Anyone else want to join us on the Rubbish Diet - drop us a line on alison.thomas08@gmail.com or follow us on twitter @RDShrosphire thanks Ali

safe dates for food

Karen Cannard - the creator of the Rubbish Diet sent over this link from love food hate waste campaign.... "Re food, it's also worth remembering that even up to its Use By date, certain food can still be frozen. Here's a great link that you might like to share around your community:" http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/content/know-your-dates-londons-love-food-hate-waste-campaign I think I just need a 30 hour day - then I would be really organised! The chickens next door are enjoying my attempts at getting rid of food waste and the dog is getting fat! This has got to stop - no more food waste from now on!

Why oh Why do supermarkets sell stuff in black plastic trays?

Please tell me why supermarkets are selling stuff in black plastic trays? We cannot recycle them in Shropshire - even the most modern. sophisticated plastics separation facility can't do anything with black trays!! So why is stuff still sold in them? Are the black trays cheaper to produce? Does the food look better on a black tray? Either way, there should be a way that forces non-recyclable packaging out of the loop. Perhaps, there should be a disposal surcharge on products if their packaging is non-recyclable to discourage food companies from using it. Perhaps, supermarkets could start to refuse to sell products which come in non-recyclable packaging.... Another idea would be for supermarkets to provide the facility to take back all their own packaging.... all the bring banks in the car park are a good start - but if supermarkets had to find recycling and disposal routes for all the packaging they sold - they would soon start to only sell things wrapped in stuff that is easy and cheap to handle. Oh for a joined up World...

How to stop "to the Occupier" mail....

People have been asking how to stop mail that isn't personally addressed: James Thompson, Waste prevention officer at Shropshire Council has sent over this information about how to stop "To the occupier" mail... The Mail Preference Service only stops addresses mail for the named occupants www.mpsonline.org.uk You can stop 'to the occupier' by emailing royal mail optout@royalmail.com see http://www.royalmail.com/you-home/controlling-your-mail And you cant completely stop but you can try to reduce free newspapers and take away fliers / political leaflets etc by adding a polite no thanks sign to your letter box It's also about being a bit savvy with giving your address out and making sure you always tick the box to say no to future marketing or not tick the box when they try to reverse the question subtly You can also ask the yellow pages etc not to bother sending you one too https://www.yellowpagesoptout.com/about-us - I find this is a good site http://www.saynotophonebooks.com/ Also this is a really good website http://www.stopjunkmail.org.uk/ This is worth a read too http://myzerowaste.com/articles/household/yellow-pages-bt-directories/ Here's to paperless communication!! Have a nice day

Got to stop guessing on quantities

I have never been an exact cook - a bit of this and a bit of that for about that long. However - I find that my approximate approach to recipes means that I often over buy by a couple of portions. I carefully store the leftovers intending to eat them the next day - when low and behold they get forgotten behind something in the fridge and have to be thrown away or at the dog - what a waste of money!! But things are going to change!!! I have just discovered this great tool devised by the Love food Hate Waste campaign http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/portions/everyday It works out how much of different ingredients you need to buy. Now, I have 3 boys who eat way more than I do so I put in 5 adults rather than 2 plus 3 children and this seems to work for us. Over the next 2 weeks I am going to use it to see if I can eliminate food waste all together. I would love to hear your top tips for avoiding food waste

Landfills don't need calories

Talking of food waste - here's a bit of info to get us thinking.... "As its coming up to Christmas we could all do with a bit more spare cash in our wallet, right? Well did you know that the average UK family throws out approximately £550 worth of food each year! Shocking, isn't it? But it's true and most of that is simply because we buy too much or cook too much and then never get round to eating it. And of course when you've got a busy lifestyle with kids this problem is just magnified. Some kids can be fussy eaters too - we've all spend hours slaving over a hot stove only to see the little ones leave half the food uneaten on their plate. Well one way to help avoid this is getting your children more involved in meal planning and preparing dinner. This can be fun and may help them to appreciate the value of food and waste less. Simply by planning out your meals for the week ahead in a diary, you can reduce waste because you can plan out a shopping list, so that you only buy what you really need. Some ways of reducing food waste are really as simple as just storing food in a different place. Two-thirds of UK households are letting fruit go to waste, simply by keeping it out in a fruit bowl whereas fruit like apples will last up to 14 days longer if kept in the fridge. Another top tip is to make the most of your freezer. Try freezing any leftovers in individual portions and then you have a perfect lunch to take to work in the week. But make sure you wrap food properly before freezing to keep it at its best. Use freezer bags or plastic containers and minimize the air around the food helps avoid ‘freezer burn’. And it's not just all about money - by saving food waste we can all tread more lightly on the planet. Producing, distributing, storing and cooking food uses energy, fuel and water. All these activities result in greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming. Think of a pack of cheese for example. The resources that go into raising the cows, processing the milk, transporting the cheese, refrigeration, the fuel we use to drive to the shop to buy it - all this to put it in the bin at the end of the week. It's insane but it's happening all over the country right now - in fact in the UK we throw away the equivalent of more than three million slices of cheese every single day! In Shropshire around 20% of all household waste is food waste - so that means we're producing about 30,000 tonnes of the stuff every year. Of course now some of this will be composted or feed to pets and the like but even if it doesn’t all end up in landfill its far better to avoid this waste in the first place. Being frugal with your food is helping to ensure our environment is protected for the future generations." For more handy hints and tips and a delicious selection of family friendly recipes visit http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ Regards, James Thompson, Waste Prevention Officer Waste Management Shropshire Council

The results are in.... 1st fortnight on Rubbish Diet Shropshire

Well after 2 weeks of eating, sleeping and talking rubbish - tonight I have weighed our rubbish..... da da daaah 5 people and a dog have produced 2 and a half bags of rubbish weighing a total of 5.4 kg. My wheelie bin is one third full. Our wheelie bin at the last bin day was nearly full with 5 bags in it weighing a total of 10kg. So in both weight and volume we have reduced our rubbish by almost 50%. The reduction is great but is 5.4kg still high? What weight of rubbish does an average UK family throw away each fortnight? Can anybody tell me? My next question is can we get any lower? Well, we seem to be getting into a rhythm now - avoiding non recyclable packaging. Our recycling system has had an overhaul to make it more efficient and the boys are heeding the big notice on the bin that says NO PLASTIC, NO METAL, NO PAPER, NO CARD AND CHECK WITH ME FIRST!! Our biggest problem is food waste. A couple of errors on portion size or forgetting to use up leftovers and bingo you have another kilo of methane just waiting to happen! So my big push over the next 2 weeks will be to be much more careful planning meals, buying food - trying not to be drawn in by bargain buys and using my freezer more effectively. Check out www.lovefoodhatewaste.org.uk to stop feeding landfill!! And thanks to the grow cook share project in Craven Arms because tey are going to share their Bokashi knowledge with us.

Thoughts from a bin slimmer

I'll admit to making a somewhat half-hearted attempt at slimming my bin. Partly, because it seems to be quite slim already. This isn't because I'm some eco-warrior, just because I've done the easy stuff and I'm not sure what to do next. 

I unintentionally slimmed my bin a few years ago, I actually had to go out and buy a smaller bin. We were emptying ours so infrequently that it was really starting to smell!

I wasn't really trying to at the time it was just a lucky coincidence. 

The things that made this happen were:

1. We bought a house with our very own garden and started composting. All the veg peelings that used to go in the bin are now outside making lovely compost for my veg patch.

2. We stopped buying milk in plastic bottles or cartons and instead have it delivered. Three times a week a bottle of fresh milk is on the doorstep before breakfast and the empty bottles are taken away to be re-used. This is surely one of the most wonderful and environmentally friendly ways of packaging anything - nothing to throw away at all! 

These two things made a dramatic difference. And, I'd got rather complacent until I heard about Karen Cannard http://therubbishdiet.blogspot.co.uk/ getting her weekly rubbish down to just one plaster. 

I'm definitely a long way off from that one.

I quick peek in the kitchen bin has revealed the following:

A cake box - This is mostly cardboard so could have been recycled but is also coated in sticky icing and needs the plastic film window peeling out. I was too lazy to get covered in lemon icing while trying to rip out a bit of necessary plastic that I just binned it. 

Washing up gloves - I always bin these and dishcloths. I think the only answer is to buy a more expensive, better quality brand, in the hope that they last longer and so I throw away less. Also, instead of binning a pair of gloves I just bin the one with the hole in and so only need one new one. I occasionally end up with two left hands, but every little helps! 

A biro - At the risk of covering everything in blue ink, I'm going to hunt down my old fountain pen from secondary school and stop using disposable pens.

Hope you've enjoyed these ramblings and please share your bin slimming challenges and successes! 

Recyclable versus Biodegradable plastics - what do you think?

One of the biggest problems for consumers is working out what is the best thing for the environment! Most plastic packaging is recyclable - but only some can be taken back to supermarkets. Then some packaging is biodegradable so is designed to disappear in landfill How are we supposed to know what goes where? Without specific legislation - companies are taking the initiative to come up with their own solutions. BUT that means we end up with a mish mash of materials all of which need to be dealt with in a different way. Biodegradable plastics still use fossil fuels and still go to landfill albeit temporarily. I don't think this is closed loop thinking it just muddies the water!! What do you think? John Lewis unveils biodegradable packaging 'fit for landfill' 8 November 2012, source edie newsroom John Lewis has introduced biodegradable polyethylene packaging across its bed linen and schoolwear lines, in what is thought to be a UK first. Related articles Zero waste to landfill for milk bottle manufacturer The material, which will replace conventional polyethylene, contains an additive biodegrade introduced during the manufacturing process which will break down with or without oxygen, heat or light, in 5-15 years - meaning it will still degrade even if sent to landfill. John Lewis packaging design & production manager Mark Gallen said the company had been researching more sustainable packaging materials with its suppliers, and believes this is a ground-breaking development. "We have already replaced PVC packaging with recyclable polyethylene ... while it is possible to recycle traditional plastic bags at some recycling centres, it is less common to be able to recycle this type of plastic at kerbside collection points meaning that most of it is thrown in the bin," he commented. "Until recycling facilities are more widely available, most people will throw the packaging away. We know that our customers want to reduce their environmental impact, and this new material makes it easy for them to do this." The retailer plans to roll out the packaging across other product lines including own-brand ready-made curtains next year. Following an initial six months of exclusive use, it will then make the technology behind the new packaging available to other retailers. John Lewis takes accountability for its waste arisings very seriously. Last month its recycling & waste operations manager Mike Walters told edie that the company was now focusing on end destination and keeping secondary materials in the UK wherever possible.

Use Freegle for free stuff!

Freegle is fab! I am sitting on an office chair I acquired from a lady in Castlefields - I needed one and she needed the space - perfect! I had been storing a marble fireplace for years - i eventually put it on freegle and it was out of my garage 24 hours later! Freegle (replaces freecycle) in Shrewsbury. 5800 locals use this grassroots, and growing, free, non-profit local recycling opportunity. You offer something you don’t need on the web, goods or services for free, or look to acquire something you need yourself. A bonus is it keeps unwanted stuff out of landfill! To join, see: Local Shrewbury Group: www.freegle.in/shrewsbury Local group via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ShrewsburyFreegle For national information: www.ilovefreegle.org

Cardboard Christmas will be on 5th January in Shrewsbury

In the last year Shropshire Council have provided a number of cardboard bins around the county www.shropshirewaste.org.uk BUT these will not cope at Christmas!! To make sure that we keep cardboard out of landfill Transition Shrewsbury are running another Cardboard Christmas day on 5th January 2013. The aim is to collect as much cardboard as possible - getting it out from under your feet, keeping it out of landfill at the same time as raising some cash for local charity We will be collecting cardboard at at least 3 sites in Shropshire: The Red Barn Pub on Longden road Belle Vue The United Reform Church, Abbey Foregate South Shropshire Furniture Scheme Ludlow If you would like to volunteer to help us .... ....or if you would like to run your own Cardboard Christmas project please contact Ali on alison.thomas08@gmail.com Download our Keeping Cardboard out of Landfill Guide from www.transitiontownshrewsbury.org.uk How about collecting down your street - we can supply bags for you to use. For more information - drop us a line So far we have Ashley Street, Woodfield Road and Woodfield Avenue, Castlefields, Would love to have more......

Recycling Day - a good or a bad thing?

Just put out the recycling for kerbside collection tomorrow.... great to get it all out of my kitchen!! 1 and a half black dustbins completely full of plastic pots, bottles, trays, foil and tins 1 green wheelie bin full of woody garden waste about 10kg of paper 6 wine bottles Plus I had a meeting at the Red Barn tonight so took my cardboard up there and I took a carrier bag full of plastic film to the plastic bag bin at Sainsburys and this week I recycled 3 bags of toys and 2 bags of clothes Meanwhile in my grey wheelie bin there lies one bag of rubbish weighing 3.1 kg. Mixed feelings about all this - on the one hand it is amazing how much you can recycle in Shropshire when you put your mind to it but, then again, we have used so much stuff, so much energy has gone into making all that stuff, everything comes in so much packaging...... SO now i have a dual challenge - the first to try and eliminate non recyclable waste and the second is to reduce the overall amount of stuff we produce as a family. Any tips on where to shop to reduce packaging gratefully received thanks ali

Even your odd socks can be recycled!

Just had a nice conversation with lady at Severn Hospice. She says that the Hospice shop on Wyle Cop is very happy to receive rags - just put them in a tied up bag and label them rags so that they don't waste time sifting through them. they sell them to the rag man who recycles all the textiles. You can put clothes in bags in a bank at Red Barn - these clothes are not sorted and are sent lock stock and barrel to eastern Europe. Usable clothes will find a new home - but you can't be sure that unusable items will be recycled. The Salvation Army have a bank at ASDA - check out this link to see what happens to them http://www.wear2bank.co.uk/Questions Better to take rags to OXFAM banks at Sainsburys or bag them up and take them to a charity shop. By the way - I also found a cardboard bank at ASDA! Great for people in Abbey Foregate, Monkmoor and BelleVue

Stopping junk mail benefits all

Follow the link to see how to stop junk mail http://shropshire.gov.uk/news/2012/11/council-helps-residents-to-reduce-junk-mail/ Although we can recycle all our junk mail - it is still better not to produce it in the first place! By signing up to the mail preference service we save trees, save energy, save space in our recycling bins and save the council money in reduced collection costs which in turn means our council tax goes further! I signed up on-line and even I found it straightforward! By the way - anyone got any clue what to do with plastic animal feed bags?

3 days of rubbish diet

Ok we are 3 days into rubbish diet.... I have 4 broken plastic plant post in my wheelie. But my kitchen bin although small and compact is almost three quarters full!! What on earth is in there? yoghurt lids chocolate wrappers the plastic film from meat trays scrapings of a burnt pan a load of bits and bobs including half a plastic sword from under the bed!

Check out James' blog on love shrewsbury

James Thompson, Waste Prevention officer at Shropshire Council is blogging about recycling on Love Shrewsbury website http://www.loveshrewsbury.com/blog/james-thompson Great stuff James - please can you blog about our Rubbish Diet thanks

It's really easy to recycle batteries in Shropshire

Did you know....? Batteries can be recycled at all sorts of places in Shropshire now: All shops which sell batteries including even quite small corner shops, electrical shops and all the supermarkets have battery tubs plus all the main council recycling centres plus all the main council offices, guildhall, shirehall, corve street etc plus all these schools: Albrighton Primary School Shropshire Council (Lacon Childe School site) Shropshire Council (Cae Post Community Recycling Facility) Bitterley CE ( Aided) Primary Ifton Heath Primary School Shropshire Council (Enterprise House) Shropshire Council (Cae Post Community Recycling Facility) Shropshire Council (Lacon Childe School site) Adderley C of E Junior and Infant School Albrighton Prmary School Belvidere Primary School Belvidere School Bishop Hooper Bishops Castle Primary School Bitterley CE (Aided) Primary Brockton CE Primary School Broseley CE Primary School Brown Clee CE Primary School Chirbury CE Primary School Christchurch CE Primary School Church Preen Primary School Claverley CE Primary School Cleobury Mortimer Primary School Bishops Castle Community College Condover CE Primary Corvedale C of E School Ellesmere Primary Greenacres Primary School Grove School Hadnall Hinstock Primary School Hodnet Primary Ifton Heath Primary Kinnerley CE Primary School Lakelands School Longlands Primary School Longnor Primary School Lydbury North CE Primary School Market Drayton Junior School Martin Wilson School Mary Webb Moreton Say C of E School Morville CE Primary School Myddle C Primary School Oakmeadow Oldbury Wells School Our Lady & St Oswalds Catholic Primary School Oxon Primary Pontesbury Primary Severndale Specialist School Shawbury Primary Sir John Talbots Technology College St Giles Primary School St Johns County Primary School St Leonard's Primary School St Mary's Primary St Thomas and St Anne Primary School Stoke-on-Tern Primary School The Meadows Primary School Thomas Adams School Trefonen Trinity CE Primary Whitchurch Juniors Whixall Primary Wilfred Owen Woodside Primary Woore Primary Worfield CoE Primary Worthen prim AND: Shirehall Guildhall Enterprise House The Council Offices Shrewsbury Furniture Recycling Scheme Bridgnorth Furniture Recycling Scheme Bishops Castle Community College Shropshire Secret Hills Discovery Centre The Hollies Learning & Training Centre The Severn Centre Cae Post Community Recycling Facility The Book Shop Bridgnorth Library Bridgnorth Council offices Stone House recyclenow.com Great job James!!

I'm going in, I may be some time!

Ok it's half term and it has to be done - the bedroom raid! Time to reorganise and declutter my 15 year old's bedroom. It is time to put the train set, the bricks and lego in the loft and to persuade my children to part with a whole load of soft toys and games that haven't seen the light of day for about 5 years. So after about 4 hours of cleaning, sorting and a lot of arguing - I finally ended up with 4 bags of toys for the charity shop. Just dropped them off at Hope House along with a bag of rags from the dressing up box - the lady was really happy to have toys at this time of year and Hope House gladly accepts rags. Just checked the wheelie bin and someone has put some old cracked black plastic plant pots in there!!

Repurposing! Don't you just love Americans?

Check out these great Reuse ideas http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-reuse-upcycling-repurposing-ideas/ So far my reuse ideas have not been quite so creative! - I am amusing myself by making wrapping paper from foil lined chocolate wrappers. I vow not to buy any wrapping paper at all this Christmas. Apparently coffee foil pouches turned inside out make pretty gift bags as well - not sure cat food pouches would have the same appeal?

What to do with ripped clothes and socks beyond repair

James Thompson at Shropshire Council has answered my query about whether you can put unusable textiles in the BCR textile banks at the Household Recycling Centre. James checked with the contractor and they assured him that they recycle everything that cannot be sold or used. James has suggested that they state this clearly on their banks - to stop people throwing textiles in landfill. Textile banks provision has been sub-contracted to midlands firm BCR Global who have installed containers at around 80 public sites including all of the main Council recycling centres Watch this short film to see how the textiles get sorted for re-use in developing countries or recycling into industrial rags http://www.bcrglobal.com/videos.html?play=full_dvd They obviously prefer to get as much of the good quality wearable garments which have more resale value but they can accept torn, ripped, broken and worn out do recycle the lower grade stuff, virtually nothing goes to landfill. So it's also a good outlet for lower grade textiles, linen, towels etc. I've checked with the contractor and the specification has not altered - it's still as per this list on our website. I have asked Veolia to make sure their staff are briefed and containers are clearly labeled etc. http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/waste.nsf/open/9FB272EC5FF31FD7802570D9003A2C00 On the same note - I noticed that the OXFAM textile banks at Sainsburys do state that all textiles that can't be sold will be recycled. Do you know of any other outlets for unuseable textiles? Bye for now Ali 07972858313

Did you know how important metal recycling is?

Recycling metal saves a huge amount of energy because the raw materials don't have to be dug out of the ground. Here is the information about kerbside metal recycling from Shropshire Waste website: http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/waste.nsf Metal packaging is 100% recyclable. Not just once: It can be recycled over and over again, into a huge variety of products. Every time it is recycled it saves natural resources, energy and cuts greenhouse gas emissions. Best of all, it doesn't take a lot of effort on your part to make a big difference. You can recycle the following metal items at kerbside: cans tins empty aerosols foil foil trays It's really important that we recycle every last scrap of metal, because all metal is precious. Metal recycling is one the most environmentally beneficial bits of recycling you can do. If you put just two extra metal cans in your recycling box you'll save enough energy to power your TV set for 12 hours! What happens to Shropshire's recycled metal? To make collection more efficient for everyone, metal packaging gets collected mixed with the plastics and so first it has to go to Veolia's Materials Recycling Facility in Wolverhampton to be separated using special magnets. The metal needs further sorting into the steel and aluminium fractions before they can be recycled. Steel goes to AGM in South Wales to be melted down in a furnace to make new steel. It goes into a variety of manufacturing processes. It could end up as a steel girder in a building, or a bicycle or a kettle or a washing machine or baked bean tins - the possibilities are endless! Aluminium goes to the Novelis closed-loop recycling plant in Cheshire where it is primarily used to make more cans. All metal is recyclable ...but unfortunately we cannot currently collect it all from the kerbside… Please dont put metal items like pots and pans, empty paint tins, bikes, garden tools, door handles, nuts and bolts etc. out for collection! You can still recycle them all but you just need to take them up to Battlefield and put them in the scrap metal bay at the Household Recycling Centre. http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/waste.nsf/open/1536bb96cc150f2580257021004523da

Lush for a Zero Waste bath

Thanks James for reminding me about Lush - a company that produces great toiletries with no waste!! Great for zero waste present - I might treat myself if I manage to halve my refuse over the next two weeks! For an alternative theres truly no waste with these lush bath bombs There's one in Telford, they only use recyclable paper wrappers and generally try to avoid any packaging at all Lush are quite a good example of a firm doing something on waste http://www.lush.co.uk/content/view/783 I remember them running a "shop 'naked' with lush" campaign http://pudding88.blog.com/2009/10/28/lush/

Did you know.....? 20 surprising items you can compost Taken from the RecycleBank (4 Sep 2012 by Jo Dimbleby) Think that composting is just for food stuffs? Think again! Many, many items of household waste can add extra nutrients to your compost heap – not just the obvious, such as vegetable peels and coffee grounds. 1. Stale wine and beer – great for after a party! Wine is actually used by many old school gardeners as an ‘activator’ for compost, kicking off the bacterial processes needed to break down the waste. 2. Hair from your family and your pets 3. Balsa wood boxes – such as the ones commonly sold with Camembert cheeses. 4. Used masking tape 5. Stale fish food 6. Hide or bone based dog chews – just make sure your dog’s finished with it first, otherwise you’ll have an unhappy hound. 7. Old rope – so long as it’s natural and not plastic-based 8. Really worn out leather items – chop these up into small strips with scissors to cut the time it takes them to break down. 9. Condoms – did you know that both latex and sheepskin condoms compost? 10. Wool or cotton clothing – finally a good use for that exhausted old jumper! Use old cotton clothing as dusters and cleaning cloths first; when they get too mangy, wash them through and bung them on the compost. 11. Cotton tampons and cardboard applicators 12. Seaweed – tried and tested ‘activator’. Useful as it gives the decomposition process a boost. 13. Feathers – another brilliant way to get your compost heap working overtime. 14. Vacuum dust – woollen carpets only, not synthetic as these fibres will not compost. 15. Muddy scrapings from your hiking boots 16. Lint from the tumbledryer filter 17. Fingernail and toenail clippings – provided they’re nail varnish free. 18. Ashes from the BBQ – worms go crazy for these. Make sure they’re cool first, unless you want a flaming compost heap! 19. Used tissues – collect them when you have a cold. The screwed up paper helps create space and aerate the heap. 20. Animal manure from vegetarian pets – best mixed with straw. Let us know if anyone's got any other compost tips?

I thought I would do what Karen suggested and just read the recycling information on the Shropshire waste website - and low and behold, I learned something!! Plastic film recycling You can take plastic wrapping/packaging back to the larger supermarkets and recycle it at their in-store carrier bag recycling points. What types of plastic film are accepted? They accept any low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film which is sometimes marked with a number 4. plastic wrappers from bakery goods plastic breakfast cereal liners plastic toilet roll wrappers plastic bags from fruit and veg plastic carrier bags plastic bread bags plastic freezer bags plastic magazine wrap plastic shrink wrap What types of plastic film do they not accept? bubble wrap cling film If you are unsure look out for the label on the packet which should say "recycle with your carrier bags at larger stores - not at the kerbside". Where can I take plastic film? The major supermarkets all offer recycling facilities for this type of material in their larger stores. Participating stores include the larger Asda, Sainsbury, Co-op, Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose supermarkets. What happens to the plastic film? The supermarkets collect it at the front of the store and then they use "reverse haulage" so when new stock is delivered the empty truck takes away all their plastic wrapping. The plastic is recycled at a variety of UK reprocessors who use it to make recycled plastic carrier bags and rubbish bags. Why recycle plastic film? The average household gets through about 25 kg of plastic film each year, and while this seems like a tiny amount, it adds up to thousands of tonnes of the stuff across Shropshire. You can keep this out of landfill by taking it back to the supermarket. By recycling plastic it helps to reduce oil use, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is great for me as I have about 4 bin bags of the stuff in my garage - I will have to go in the dead of night in my gorilla garbage balaclava!!

Rubbish Diet Launch in Shropshire a great success!

Fantastic to see 27 people at the launch of the Rubbish Diet Shropshire last night and I have had messages from at least 5 other people who also want to join us!

Karen Cannard creator of the Rubbish Diet Blog inspired us with her tales of her experience of slimming her bin to just one plaster by taking the Rubbish diet challenge back in 2008.

So we have a great group of willing volunteers - So what do we need to do now?

1. Well the first thing we are going to do is  BASELINE our bin - work out when your next refuse collection is - this is your start date for the Rubbish diet. Before then, try and weigh what goes into your bin. I  have put my bathroom scales next to my kitchen bin and am weighing each bag on the way into the wheelie. If you do this for a week and double it to get your average fortnightly weight.

2. Next step - is get organised to make recycling easier

3. Are we recycling everything we can?

4. Then we can get going!!

In our first week we will be looking at what goes in and identifying those difficult items

In the mean time - I will be looking for practical solutions for unusable textiles, black plastic trays and film