The Rubbish Diet is taken up by a street in Shrewsbury

The Rubbish diet has been taken to a new level this week with a street deciding to take on the rubbish diet challenge. 10 households on Ashley Street in Shrewsbury are planning to slim their bins together. The big weigh-in is next Wednesday the day before bin day. Then they will spend the next 8 weeks trying to produce less and less rubbish by following the Rubbish Diet. This process really works and helps you to get to grips with what you can and can't recycle, it helps you save money because you get really good at not wasting food. On average each household reduces waste by 50%. Slimming bins together is great fun - it is fascinating to find out how little rubbish we need to produce. The bin doesn't smell anymore because the foodwaste has gone, the wheelie bin is never more than half full so no need to panic when you are lying in bed and hear the bin lorry coming down the street!! Now the families in Ashley street are not just doing the rubbish diet - they have also set up a rota to share trips to the HRC or bring banks for all the cardboard, tetrapak, batteries and rags which don't get picked up by the council. So under their new regime, each family will only have to make the trip once every 10 weeks now - so they are saving time and money and the planet! by recycling together! If you think your household, your street or your friends might like to take up the rubbish diet challenge or would just like some bags to collect cardboard and tetrapak please give me a shout on 07972 858313 or alison.thomas08@gmail.com - we have a new diet starting at the beginning of April 2013.

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?