East Devon goes for Zero Waste

I'd just like to give a huge shout-out to the Recycling Officers at East Devon District Council, who are kicking off their Zero Waste Week today.

The council is in the process of introducing weekly food waste collections and to raise awareness of new methods available to reduce landfill, they are giving residents who already benefit from the new service the opportunity to participate in their first Zero Waste week.

Contestants will need to go for one week without producing any black bag rubbish and there will be a prize for the most successful household.

Although the competition is open to residents on Monday and Tuesday collections in the Axe Valley, Sidmouth and Ottery areas, other folk in the district are being encouraged to participate by avoiding packaging and recycling or reusing everything they can.

And if you have been listening in to Good Morning Devon today, you may even have heard East Devon's Waste Management Team's Steve Joyce making his radio debut with his colleague Naomi.

It was all fun and frolics with BBC Radio Devon presenter Matt Woodley, inviting Steve and Naomi to delve into his family's binbags to find out what could be done with a "fetching pair of plum hotpants"and a pink bra.

Steve's tip that the bra could actually be recycled and might even come back as soundproofing material certainly caught the attention of the radio presenter as well as other interesting facts during the 10 minute slot. Having your rubbish waded through on air, is a brave thing to do even for a confident radio presenter, but it did make great listening as Naomi and Steve managed to reduce the rubbish by 50%.

So if you live in Devon and missed the debate, which included top tips about nappies, dry cleaners' bags and shredded paper, then it's worth popping along to BBC Radio Devon and clicking on the Listen Again button. You just need to fast forward to 2hrs 32 minutes.

Best of luck to all in East Devon who are taking part and to Steve and Naomi in their bid to help reduce the UK's landfill. It's wonderful to see more councils rolling out Zero Waste challenges and when the week is over, I'll be sure to report back on their successes.

And if you'd like to find out more information about East Devon's Zero Waste Challenge, further details can be found on the council's website.
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