A sense of déjà vu: but this time we've got company

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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Blogger let loose for Recycle Week

So what's all it about then, this pledge of mine for Recycle Week?

To help others in my community waste less.

It sounds simple doesn't it, especially when you say it quickly. But what does it really mean?


Well I made some tentative steps yesterday by tagging some members of my British Mummy Bloggers community to help raise awareness of Recycle Week. And thanks to the lovely bloggers involved, they in turn have already tagged 15 other people, so hopefully that'll be a few more promises in Recycle Now's pledgebank by the end of today and hopefully even more will make their pledge tomorrow.

But do I stop there and just let the pledges automatically stack up?

Oh no...that would be far too easy for a someone such as me who likes nothing better than a challenge.


Choosing the pledge

I admit that when I was I invited on board as a featured blogger for Recycle Week, I pondered the list of pledges available and truly felt stuck! It was like dragging myself out of a quagmire, going this way and that deciding what I should pledge.

I already do all those things on the list of suggestions, even taking my bottles home with me if a bar or cafe doesn't recycle them. Better to take them to the recycling bank than let them get buried in landfill, I'd say.

Since last year's Zero Waste Week, we still have waste-free days and we've reduced, reused and recycled so much our rubbish amounts to just one carrier bag's worth, which is the equivalent of putting out a wheelie bin about once a year.

So hopefully you can see my predicament.

So for me it was a question of "How else could I support this year's theme of let's waste less?"

And that's when I had my light bulb moment, when I thought that as well as making a simple pledge on the Recycle Now website I could also put all my networks to good use, encouraging and enabling lots of other people to work together to also waste less during Recycle Week.

Community thinking

It wasn't a flash of inspiration, you'll understand. At my age it was more like the gradual glow given off by an energy-saving light bulb, steady but optimistic.

But I'm not an evangelist or an eco-warrior, so this challenge would never be about approaching people and quizzing them about their recycling habits and convincing them to do more in a direct way.

However I write for a local magazine, I'm a governor of a local primary school and I have a good relationship with our council and I wondered how this could benefit the community. Having been inspired by the efforts that have been made by residents in St Arvans, Monmouthshire, and more recently in Wenhaston, Suffolk, I thought it would be great to encourage all the people I know to work together to reach out to my local community in Moreton Hall, which is in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

But with so many messages about recycling, the first step was to find a simple pledge that most people could make.


What could we save from landfill?

We are very lucky in Moreton Hall as householders can recycle almost anything locally. Our local council, St Edmundsbury, is able to collect mixed plastics, as well as paper, cans, cardboard, foil and batteries. We also have a household composting collection and a glass bring bank is located in the centre of estate and at our local local supermarket, where we can also recycle clothing, shoes, books and carrier bags.

In fact, residents are great at the old recycling lark. Our dry recycling collection alone amounts to roughly 31% of our residential waste and that's before you consider compostable materials.



But as you know, there's always room for improvement and having spoken with fellow residents over the last 12 months, I've noticed the one thing that catches out many folk is the good old Drinks Carton. In fact there was a time when I didn't know what to do with them either.



We can actually recycle cartons in Bury St Edmunds. In fact if you look at the Tetra Pak bank locator and navigate to St Edmundsbury in Suffolk, you'll see our nearest banks are at Waitrose and the Rougham Hill HWRC, the latter of which is about a mile away from the centre of Moreton Hall.

However, while many people are aware of these facilities a lot of others aren't, and those who are aware don't always have access because of lack of time or even transport. Others assume they can be recycled in the blue bin collection, while many other people will put them in the landfill bin.

With so many misunderstandings over the fate of the carton, it seemed like a good candidate for profiling the Recycle Week message locally.

Getting the preparations underway!

So while many folk might be pondering their Recycle Week plans now, mine started about a month ago.

The first step was to speak to the local councils to see if arrangements could be put in place to support the carton idea. And the good news was that they were able to provide a temporary bin for Recycle Week at my sons' school AND at the community centre.

This was indeed fantastic news, because if next week is successful, it will save me having to cart several car loads to the local recycling centre. In fact the bins will be delivered on Monday, courtesy of St Edmundsbury Borough Council.

The next challenge has been to get community groups involved. This was a toughie because it meant approaching people with whom I've never spoken before. If it went the wrong way, there was risk I would get the reputation as the mad woman of Moreton Hall. I've already got a cat with one eye and I could see it had potential to become a legend of its own making.

However, I had nothing to fear because everyone was enthusiastic to get involved in the local Recycle Week project and have been busy putting their own plans into place to collect cartons to fill the temporary recycling bins.

Finally, there was the issue of communications. However, being a regular contributor to a local magazine called the MHD, I was able to work with the editor to announce the project to residents of Moreton Hall in a double-page splash. Here's the front cover promoting the news.




The fact that it goes to 2500 households means that hopefully it's a positive start. Here's the article in its full glory (click on it to enlarge it).





So who's getting involved next week?

Well it certainly seems a case of all hands on deck.

As well as residents being invited to drop off their cartons at the communal bin, the two primary schools, Abbots Green and Sebert Wood are organising carton collections, which will help support their eco-school plans. The Moreton Hall Prep School is also organising a collection as are the local church and the youth club. One of the Beaver clubs outside the local catchment is getting involved too and the community centre and post office will also be promoting the event by displaying posters and leaflets. It's great that everyone is enthusiastic about this project and I'd like to thank them for being a part it.

But it doesn't stop there, although the major preparations are now in place for next week, I've got my eye on a few candidates who I've not yet approached, but plan to very soon. And I've got some other ideas up my sleeve too. Of course there is also time for anyone else in the community to get involved and I would be delighted to welcome them on board.

In the meantime, I'm off to a WRAP waste industry conference tomorrow to find out the latest news in mixed plastics recycling. Shhh, don't tell them that a blogger has been let loose amongst the professionals will you? They might wonder what I'm up to.

So I guess that leaves me with just one last question to ask...yay you know I'm cheeky don't you!


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