bemoreeco

In the first-ever green think tank for children in the UK, manufacturers and retailers have been urged to do away with unnecessary packaging on games and toys.

The message came the youngsters attending the summit sponsored by British Gas, called Our Planet, Our Say. The event saw the launch of a new schoolchildren’s eco-group that represents more than 9,500 schools.

The think tank, made up of 20 of the schoolchildren chosen as the “greenest”, spent a day at Closed Loop Recycling plant in East London. Members discussed recycling issues and the part recycling plays in climate change and energy usage.

By the time the group concluded its discussions, it identified three policies to tackle energy wastage that it felt should be supported by the UK government.

All of the children involved agreed that new games and toys should be sold either with no packaging materials or have packaging significantly reduced. In addition, they urged soft drink companies to begin using only clear plastic bottles, which would reduce the energy required in bottle manufacturing and recycling.

The government was also advised to introduce more recycling bins and facilities in city centre, parks and other public spaces.

For more information on this article please visit www.clickgreen.org.uk.

Well for all those at Glastonbury the weather has not held out but the show must go on. It is day 4 of Recycle Week and the team at BeMoreEco and MoreEco are really getting in to the swing of things. Today we took delivery of two new recycling bins for the office. One for plastic and the other for metal. For a great selection of recycle bins for your office check out this great post at EcoTrendSpotter <click here>.

Recycle Week Reading

Two articles have taken my interest today. They are;

Virtual food hall goes green to mark Recycle Week -VISION (Virtual Interactive Shopping Information Online) is a web-based interactive food toolkit to help consumers make more informed choices about the food they eat. The centrepiece of the site is an interactive food hall to explore and the ‘Are You Balanced?’ challenge based on the Food Standards Agency eatwell plate.

Working in conjunction with Gloucestershire county council’s Waste Management Unit, VISION can now demonstrate how easy it is to recycle everyday items from food and drink cans to cardboard cereal boxes. The site also points you in the right direction should you need more information.

Biodegradable plastic bags carry more ecological harm than good - The European Plastics Recyclers Association warned that they “have the potential to do more harm to the environment than good.” Technically what we are talking about here is “oxo-degradable” plastics. These are plastics made to degrade in the presence of oxygen and sunlight, thanks to the addition of tiny amounts of metals like cobalt, iron or manganese. Click here for full article by My Zero Waste.

Lunch (Recycle Week Pledge)

Today I did not do well. I received a phone call this morning from an old business colleague, who invited me out for lunch. I must admit it was great having a nice big lunch, but I did feel guilty. So I have decide that  tonight I am going to make something with the left overs in the fridge.  I need to make something with some vegetarian chili, bread, cucumber, roast chicken, peas, and 3/4 bottle red wine!!. I may tell you tomorrow what I did, but if you have suggestion please send us a comment!

Recycle Week daily Video

Miniature models of Manhattan, New York City by baybong38  at YouTube - “It’s a matter of two decades now to build the model of the entire city of Manhattan made of recycle pens,cigarette lighter,lego’s and anything small made of plastic. I collect them and paint,put some details so it adds a better look.But since then,i realized that vinyl eraser are more easier to design and more cheaper than lego.So enjoy the video and i’ll throw another clip on when the whole set is finish.”

We are now in day three of Recycle Week and we are getting more and more people to accept the fact that they need to recycle more. Our daily format is simple, we will talk about what we have been reading, having for lunch, discuss recycling bins and post any amusing and informative recycling video’s.

Recycle Week Reading

Last night I used Google to search for interesting Recycle Week news articles. My first favourite was provided by WRAP titled ‘More plastics could be recycled from packaging‘. Much of this plastic packaging ends up in landfill, but WRAP’s research based on the trials shows this does not have to be the case.

The work shows for the first time that collecting of non-bottle household plastic packaging, reprocessing it and finally manufacturing it into useful popular items, is both technically and commercially viable. Recycling of this plastic packaging is also the best environmental option. WRAP is also launching a £2 million capital grant competition to help the recycling supply chain build the capacity for recycling more plastics packaging.

The second article I found encouraging was at www.letsrecycle.com titled ‘Councils gear up for 2009 Recycle Week’. This article details the efforts being made by City of York and Cherwell local counsils.

Lunch (Recycle Week Pledge)

Day three lunch and what am I going to have today. Well last night we had roast chicken so I decided to make a soup with the leftovers. The office was very jealous of me today when I heated up my organic chicken and vegetable soup and ate it with a nice wholemeal roll. This has definitely been the best lunch this week.

Recycle Bins

This collection of recycle bins have been taken while on my travels around the UK. A few years ago they would off been a rare site, but now they are becoming more and more noticeable and prominent.

This is a positive sign demonstrating that Councils, Shops, Festivals, Beaches, Public Places and Museums are taking an active role in trying to encourage people to place their rubbish in the correct recycling bin.

Recycling Video

This recycling you tube video  may seem a bit corporate and boring, but I found it realy interesting on how rubbish can be sorted and recycled.

Did you know that Bywaters hosts the largest undercover dry recyclables Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in London? The MRF processes a wide range of co-mingled office and commercial dry recyclables and being largely automated efficiency and recovery rates are maximised.

Also as bonus if you sign up to MoreEco during Recycling week we will give you an extra 100 joining points. Use offer code ‘recyclenow’.

One of Boris Johnson’s missions as Mayor of London is to get more people out of their cars and on to their bike. Howeve, last Friday, London Mayor, Boris Johnson, was it a near miss accident with a Lorry while out cycling in London. 

If you the above  watches CCTV footage of the mayor’s last outing on his own bicycle is likely to be put off for life. During the morning Johnson headed out in London with transport minister Lord Adonis and Kulveer Ranger, his director of transport, to look at potential sites for new cycle “super highways”. The routes are part of his plan for a “cycling revolution” in the capital. Round a corner peddled the mayor and the minister, enjoying the ride, until a large lorry overtook them.

In what is being described as the mayor’s “near-death experience”, the lorry’s back door then suddenly flew open, dragged a parked car into the street and smashed into another – just feet from Johnson, Adonis and Ranger.

A CCTV camera which caught the drama obscures the cyclists during the collision until 30 seconds later a figure that is unmistakably Johnson emerges, helmet in hand, scratching his head and lucky to be alive.

An aide to the mayor said: “It was pretty awful. They were shaken up and Boris was shocked. But it makes the case even more for his super highways.”

Campaigns have done little to reduce the dirt and litter on our streets. So Flemmich Webb of the Guardian ask’s what will it take for people put their rubbish in a bin?

It has happened to most of us at one time or another. You’re strolling along the pavement, when suddenly one shoe gets stuck to the ground. With a sinking feeling, you realise you’ve stepped in chewing gum - or worse.

Walking through British towns and cities, it’s often hard to avoid the litter strewn across the pavements, roads and green spaces - anything from food wrappers, cigarette butts and dog mess to bottles, cans and plastic bags. A staggering 30m tonnes of litter are removed from our streets every day.

Despite numerous anti-litter campaigns over the last decade, the amount of litter being dropped is not decreasing. The latest data, from the Encams (Keep Britain Tidy) local environmental quality survey of England for 2007/08, shows that while there has been a modest reduction of 3% in the amount of litter compared to the previous year, levels have risen since 2004/05.

Since the 1960s, littering has increased by 500%, according to Litterbugs, a recent Policy Exchange and Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) report. It is an unwelcome consequence of the increasingly throwaway society we now live in.

The problem is not just an aesthetic one. Litter is expensive - it costs local authorities in the UK about pounds 500m a year to clean up our rubbish, money that could be better spent on more critical services.

Applying the law can be a problem, too. Councils don’t have the resources to fine everyone who commits an offence. And dishing out fixed penalty notices can backfire, with local people seeing it as yet another ruse by officious councils to squeeze more money out of them.

“Enforcement is important as it helps people understand that littering is illegal but it could never in a million years solve the problem on its own,” says Peter Ramage, the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s director for waste management, culture and leisure.

Source & Full Article - The Guardian 

US President Barack Obama has announced tough targets for new fuel-efficient vehicles in order to cut pollution and lower dependence on oil imports. Describing the move as “historic”, Mr Obama said the country’s first-ever national standards would reduce vehicle emissions by about a third by 2016.

The plan aims to replace overlapping rules on emissions and efficiency set by federal agencies and states. US carmakers and environmental groups have expressed support for the move.

The proposal include;

1. 5% yearly rises in fuel efficiency from 2012 through 2016
2. Cuts oil consumption by estimated 1.8bn barrels
3. 34% reduction in emissions by 2016
4. Cuts equal taking 177m cars off the road
5. Price of cars may rise by $1,300
6. Cars average of 39 miles per US gallon
7. 30 miles per gallon for light lorries.

Every home in the UK must be fitted with an “energy smart meter” by 2020 to reduce energy use and eliminate estimated bills, under plans revealed by the government this week.

The new energy smart meters track real-time energy usage and send data about consumption in households and small businesses direct to utility companies. They could save suppliers and customers £2.5-£3.6bn over the next 20 years, according to the government, but will cost more than double this to install.

Launching a new consultation today on how the energy smart meters should be introduced, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc) claimed the compulsory scheme will be the biggest electricity and gas smart metering project in the world.

Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, said: “The energy smart meters most of us have in our homes were designed for a different age, before climate change. Now we need to get smarter with our energy. This is a big project affecting 26 million homes, and several million businesses, so it’s important we design a system that brings best value to everyone involved.”

Source & Full Article; The Guardian

To purchase energy saving gadgets <click here>

At present ECOutlet are giving 10% off all Efergy Energy Smart Meter.

It has been reported in The Guardian that Council tax bills could be slashed by millions of pounds if local authorities and consumers improve recycling.

Some people persist in putting food waste, dirty nappies and, in some cases, even dead cats in their recycling bin, which risks contaminating other material. Figures obtained by the consumer group Which? reveal that nearly 230,000 tonnes of recycling and composting material put out by households in England last year was rejected and sent to landfill at a cost to taxpayers of £12m.

 About 5% of items collected from households for recycling, such as paper and glass, are rejected, but some councils rejected more than twice that amount.Which? says that if consumers recycled more effectively, council tax bills would be lower, as it costs councils more to send rubbish to landfill than it does to recycle. Sending rubbish to landfill will cost England £620m this year.

Jess Ross, editor of which.co.uk, said: “Recycling our household waste has never been easier, but more could be done by councils and by consumers to ensure that we recycle more waste more effectively. Not only will it reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, but it could even save us money on our council tax bills.”

Materials for recycling are rejected when they are contaminated - for example if people put the wrong materials in the wrong bin. Which? says that improved collection systems, clearer information for consumers and more careful recycling by householders could reduce the amount that ends up in landfill.

Source; The Guardian

Today The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has delivered his 2009 Budget statement. Below we have listed the points which have a green, eco, or natural aspect to them. The question is the 2009 budget green enough as this could be out last chance. Vote below on what you think.

• From next month until March 2010 motorists to get £2,000 discount on new cars if they trade in cars older than 10 years.
• £4bn of new capital from European Investment Bank for low carbon stuff.
• Alistair Darling promises at least two and maybe four carbon capture projects with “new funding mechanism”.
• Britain commits to cut carbon emissions by 34% by 2020.
• Opening up north sea for further expansion, including offshore wind and carbon capture & storage with £525m for offshore wind projects over the next two years.
• Budget offering £500m to help housing industry of which £100m of that is for local authorities to build energy efficient housing.
• Fuel duty to rise by 2p per litre from September, then by 1p a litre above indexation each April for the next four years. May be more of is will drive our cars more better.
• An extra £1bn to help combat climate change by supporting low-carbon industries.
• £435m support for energy efficiency schemes for homes, firms and public buildings.
• £405m to encourage low-carbon energy and advanced green manufacturing.

Click Here for Budget Documents.

Consumers are to be offered incentives of up to £5,000 to purchase an electric car under government plans to be unveiled today that will also see the creation of electric car cities across the UK and the launch of large-scale experiments with ultra-green vehicles.

The proposals are part of a £250m strategy, seen by the Guardian, spelling out a revolution in Britain’s road transport network based on ultra-low carbon vehicles. It will be launched today by Geoff Hoon, the transport secretary, and Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, with the aim of kickstarting the market for cleaner road vehicles and slashing the UK’s CO2 emisisons.

The cash incentive for consumers would be available to offset the higher upfront costs of electric cars, in particular the price of the batteries in modern vehicles. How the money would be distributed is yet to be decided but Hoon said it would be available only to people buying cars that ran entirely, or for the vast majority of their time, on electricity. The scheme, which would be enforced by setting a ceiling for the amount of CO2 a car emits, will become operational in 2011.

Audio

Source & Full article- The guardian