I've got some really exciting news about the Seven Suffolk Streets project about which I wrote a few weeks ago.
We received a letter today announcing that St Edmundsbury has selected our street to be part of a major waste reduction project, which is being co-ordinated by the Suffolk Waste Partnership. And over the next few months residents will have the opportunity to sign-up and find out ways in which households can volunteer to halve the amount of waste that's currently sent to landfill.
The idea is that during March next year, fellow residents will attempt to cut our rubbish by half for a Waste Reduction Fortnight, which is a whole collection period. There won't be any extra wheelie bins laid on for additional waste streams. It's simply about raising awareness of recycling opportunities that already exist and sharing tips about reducing waste.
Of course I am very excited that our household can be part of this project. However, at the same time I am extremely nervous too and I'm not sure why.
It's not that I think we'll have any problems throwing out so little waste. It's actually the opposite. We haven't put out our black wheelie bin since February thanks to having very little rubbish and we only had to put it out then because of some cat litter and giblets. Before that the last time we dragged out our black bin was the beginning of January.
I'm not even worried about filling out the questionnaire, which goes into detail about the stuff that gets thrown in our bin. Because of all my previous rubbish antics there is the issue that the recycling officers will know who I am and will also learn exactly what I throw away. But I'm pretty comfortable with that too.
So I might as well admit here that I'll be simply ticking the box marked "Pet Waste" and then "Other", specifying details such as odd crisp packets, sweetie wrappers,plastic foil wrappers from collectors cards, polystyrene, old pens and pieces of broken toys. Geez, that's a far cry from two years ago when I would have been ticking all the other boxes. Shows how times have changed eh!
Of course, where I would have once been nervous about any media attention that such a project could potentially bring, these days I'm now comfortable with that too and am much more confident than I was almost two years ago when my voice trembled during the Woman's Hour radio recordings - and that wasn't even live! Since, I've been happy to go on air and regularly chat about my exploits to anyone in Suffolk who'll merrily listen. Thanks to the new project, I am sure there will be other community champions who will come forward and will be keen to support the initiative too.
So really, this time around, there should be absolutely nothing for me to worry about at all. There'll be advisers on hand to give help and advice and we'll even get a visit from the Recycling Bus. There'll also be compost give-aways, home composting clinics and Give & Take events to promote reuse. And to top it all there's the promise of awards for the best performing individuals and streets.
Indeed it's all positive news, with so much to look forward to.
So what's the worry?
Well after pacing around the living room, I think I've finally pinned it down.
I'm not worried about the challenge at all. I can only congratulate Suffolk Waste Partnership for winning the funding and having the vision to roll out such an exciting project.
No, the one thing that I'm feeling very nervous about is...
...that people in my street will discover I've got this blog!
Oops!
Oh heck!
I may be an old hand at this blogging lark & the bin slimming challenge, but I still can't get used to people I know finding out about my blogging habits.
So if anyone from my street is looking in, I just want to say, good luck if you're joining in. It's not as hard as it sounds, honest, and I promise I am still as normal as I was before I set up this blog.
I may not throw much rubbish out, but in every other way, I am still almost average!
Well, I'd like to think so anyway.
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More information about the Seven Suffolk Streets project, including the locations that have been selected, can be found on the Recycle for Suffolk website.
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