BALLS...to the laundry!

Unless you're a truly inspirational domestic goddess who loves to lather up your smalls and hang out your nylons, washing duties will be one of those household chores that can really get you down and put a dampener on your weekend!

I've never claimed to be a proper housewife, not even in my days of being at home 24/7, because with full credit to all those who can strut their stuff with a duster and more technical gadgetry than you can shake a stick at, I just couldn't pass muster.

Something happened when I left the workplace, gave birth and arrived home with a small baby. I don't know what it was, but something in my brain was suddenly switched off and after almost seven years, has failed to kick back in.

Before the vultures in pursuit of the female inability to multi-task all swoop down and pull at the the bare bones of false evidence, I need to make one thing clear...

It's not that I can't do two things at once....I can. Just watch me in action cooking up a fine Sunday roast with one hand, whilst surfing the Internet with the other.

It's just that I no longer have the capacity or indeed the inclination to keep on top of the housework!

And doing the laundry falls right into this category!

Yes it's time to come clean, so to speak, and admit that I have been known to abandon my family's laundry in the washing machine for days on end!

When I'm not distracted by writing, sometimes I just merely forget about the laundry amidst the other tasks of playing residential restaurant manager or personal shopper. Other times, I just can't hack the production-line of taking the dry laundry off the clothes dryer, sorting out the whites and then balancing the fall-out from the over-crammed under-sink cupboard just to measure the laundry detergent, knowing fully well that I am kicking off a new cycle of washing that I can't properly manage at the other end.

On a really bad day, Mr A looks at me in despair, announcing that he is "low on pants".

I just look at the gray skies, and smile back, announcing "That's all very well, but I'm low on A rated energy".

(Which is true, because our washer\dryer is truly pants and I always feel blessed if it's sunny)

Anyway, if you're still sticking with my tale of woe, then bless you, you've made my day, but surely you must be wondering where this is all going!

Well the answer is... BALLS!

And at last ...I've got some!

Yes, I've now got enough balls to tell Mr A where to stick his pants as well as those of the Junior Posse.

And the other day I gave him a demonstration, telling him that all pants can be just stuffed in the washing machine with all the other laggards of the washing backlog, with nothing else to do than press the on-switch! It's that simple!

Now if that doesn't sound like a stunt in female emancipation with grounds for divorce, then I don't know what is....however, I feel that I should offer some reassurance.

Because after several years of lack of faith plus the desire for fresh-scented laundry, I decided to ditch my doubts, get over myself and strive for a life less-hassled.

Yes Ladies and Gentlemen...I got myself some ecoballs!

Yes balls that can just hang about in the washing machine for 1000 washes, without the need for detergent! The only thing I must remember is to count to 1000 and leave them out to dry when the washing machine's not in use.

Here they are...resembling three lovely spaceships.



Why I need to use three at a time, I don't know. However, I won't ask too many questions as it's such bliss that I no longer have to juggle the boxes and bottles, let alone remember to buy them [except for tackling the odd tough stain that is].

But all this must surely leave you wondering...how on earth a woman as disorganised as this keeps on top of her recycling? Now that's the same question I ask myself everyday. However, managing my rubbish is so easy compared to my laundry.

All we need now is a magical solution that can dry, iron and put away....sigh...perhaps we need a housewife... and an efficient one at that!



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The reaction on the street...

Last week ended with a real positive outlook for the future of mixed plastics recycling. After profiling WRAP's dissemination event and not wanting to lose momentum, I spent the weekend researching the reaction on the street...

...and as you'll see from the video, I think it would be an understatement to say that those interviewed are unanimously cock-a-hoop.






(Video: Copyright Steve Agland)

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Mixed Plastics Recycling Unwrapped!

Are you good at keeping secrets?

You are?

Fantastic!

Well gather around as I’ve got a good ‘un.

Come closer. Come on, don’t be shy.

Don’t tell anyone will you?

Because
....yesterday,
.......I went
..............on
..................a mission.

It meant getting up at the crack of dawn, getting myself all dolled up and heading down to London for the second time in as many weeks.

My mission, ladies and gentlemen, was to infiltrate!

And the target was the WRAP conference, or rather its dissemination event, where experts would divulge important research and findings into the future of mixed plastics recycling.

The delegate list comprised decision-makers and stakeholders from sectors right across the waste stream, including packaging companies, consumer product manufacturers, retailers, local authorities, waste management companies, central government, industry researchers, consultancies, journalists and academics. There were some big guns and then there was……uh ummm… me!

Yep...Almost Mrs Average...a little consumer amongst the mass of production, retail and waste professionals. OK...I'm not that little...I am in fact 5'4", pretty average really!

How the heck did I go from being an innocent resident, signing up to St Edmundsbury's Zero Waste Week to attending a significant information dissemination event organised by the UK's NGO that is tasked with getting society to reduce waste and recycle more?

I’d love to tell the tale of how I sneaked in through the back window of the Bloomsbury-based hotel, darting carefully past the kitchen staff before ducking through the side of the conference room, where I lurked behind the floor-to-ceiling curtains…feeling nervous at being found out…like the little boy in Roald Dahl’s Witches, who was discovered and turned into a mouse.

But instead, I just sauntered through the main entrance and picked up my delegate's badge that said "The Rubbish Diet".

I wonder how many of the delegates looked at the list and thought "What on earth is The Rubbish Diet?"

I also wonder how many of those have now come over to have a peek...They've probably all got better things to do but for those who have made an effort, I'd just like to say a quick "hello", especially because I would love to know delegate's thoughts on yesterday's event (email address can be found in the side-bar).

You see, this post isn't really about me or my exaggerated account of playing with the big boys and girls, it's more about the future of mixed plastics, which as we've already seen, is something that concerns many consumers across the country, whether it's due to over-packaging, combination packaging, lack of collection or recyclables being processed in China.

It's about eliminating restrictions like this (and I don't mean the bit about consideration to neighbours)...


According to WRAP's research, the UK produces about 1.4 million tonnes of mixed plastic packaging waste per year. That's yogurt pots and margarine tubs to you and me, plus other things like food trays and salad bags. This amount is growing by 2-5% per year, which unless tackled soon will become a worsening problem.

Of course, there is the option of reducing packaging, but certain levels of packaging will always be needed and it is this that needs to be managed effectively and appropriately.

WRAP's team of experts unveiled in some detail the methodology and processes they used to test the financial and environmental feasibility of recycling mixed plastics. As a non-scientist, you can only begin to appreciate the complexities just from the different plastics that are banded about, such as PP, PE, PET, PS, PVS and PLA.

The recycling processes were also compared with the effects of more "traditional" methods of dealing with mixed plastics, such as landfill and burning. Consideration was given to concerns about whether the recycled products could be created without detriment to the environment, ensuring that quality was good enough to replace virgin resources and would provide sufficient added value.

Anyway, the good news for all those concerned with the amount of mixed plastic going to landfill, is that recycling has proven to be the best option.

Liz Goodwin, Wrap's CEO, sums up the positive results for recycling mixed plastics in the UK:

“This is the first time that we have been able to prove that recycling mixed plastics is not only possible, but cost-effective and makes good environmental sense. The amount of plastic packaging we see in our bins is frustrating, as there is currently nothing most of us can do about it. However, this new research is a first step towards getting that plastic out of the household bin and back in use. This will reduce the need for us to use large amounts of energy producing new plastics and the oil required in their content.”

Frustrated by the lack of local mixed plastic recycling facilities, I know someone who will be particularly pleased with the news. Yes fellow waste blogger Mrs Green. I bet she's doing a handsome dance in her kitchen right now.

However, what does all this really mean for consumers, who are the recyclers at the coal-face of waste?

One thing's for sure, it doesn't mean that Mrs Green and the rest of the UK residents will be able to recycle their food trays and yoghurt pots overnight.

There's the small issue of supply and demand and this is where I regret ditching my Economics A' level in favour of taking German.

Basically it all comes down to collection authorities creating the supply as well as industry generating the demand. Of course the "middle-men", MRF (Materials Recycling Facility) operators such as Veolia and Viridor must also play their own part in extending their sorting processes in such a way that provides economies of scale that are financially beneficial to themselves and the taxpayer.

At face value, it might seem a simple task of just sorting all the new plastics in the same way as dealing with the variants in plastic bottles.

But dig deeper and it becomes evident that unleashing mixed plastic recycling opportunities on society at large will likely lead to a whole new range of contaminates being bunged in the recycling bin. If MRFs can play their part effectively, householders far and wide will need to understand their plastics. So it's a good job that the research has taken into account potential contamination risks.

St Edmundsbury Borough Council has collected mixed plastics for recycling since around 2004 and Daniel Sage, St Edmundsbury's Strategy & Policy Manager for waste and recycling, demonstrated how effective the programme has been in householder take-up and at minimising contamination. At risk of looking like a groupie, here's a photo of Dan, on stage, sharing details of our local scheme.



Amongst other things, success has been down to effective communications to householders, with instructions placed on wheelie bins as well as a "yellow card" type warning system if incorrect materials have been placed in the recycling bins. I've certainly been on the receiving end of one of these, when I mistakenly put a carrier bag in the bin a few years ago!

I never did it again, especially as persistent offenders in our area receive a "red card" which means their bin isn't emptied.

Another highlight from yesterday's event was seeing Tesco's Head of Waste and Recycling in action, in the form of Sion Stansfield who stated that customers want Tesco to stop over-packaging, stop using mixed materials in packaging and to introduce consistent labelling.

Consquently Tesco's buyers are evaluating their product lines with packaging in mind, following five key principles:

• Fit for purpose
• Lightweight
• Sustainable Materials
• Recyclable & Renewal
• Low Carbon Impact
  

Phew! It looks like we are getting somewhere, but perhaps not as fast as we'd like, especially when supermarkets are deemed to be falling behind local retailers and markets when it comes to reducing packaging.

However, what we may need now is some patience, while we wait for what happens next!

So what is going to happen next?

The good news is that WRAP is planning to carry out a large scale demonstration, supporting the creation of a UK mixed plastic recycling plant, capable of processing 40,000 tonnes per year.

Its business plan aims to have this available by 2011 and by 2018 it will increase facilities to manage 500,000 tonnes of mixed plastic recycling per year. Yes, I know that will meet about a third of the current usage figures, but I suppose this is what progress is about and at least it gives councils and manufacturers the opportunity to come online at a pace that can be managed.

Well, I think I managed to get away with being the cuckoo in the nest.

The information dissemination event was fascinating and I've come away with a whole new range of vocabulary, from balers to SRF, ballistic separators to flaking and the best one of all...co-mingling.

Yes co-mingling...and that's got nothing to do with rubbing shoulders with waste management aficionados. It's more to do with the wide range of materials that I bung in my recycling bin.

It was most definitely worth the trip and in my case I came away a more confident consumer than before I walked in.

I just wish I'd asked about toothbrushes!

Anyway, if you're after more details than just my waffle, information about WRAP's research can be found in their press release, issued yesterday. If you're interested in the background science, you can also download your copy of the research report Life Cycle Analysis of Management Options for Mixed Waste Plastics. Copies of the presentations from the event, together with the list of delegates, are now available at the WRAP website .


Oh, I nearly forgot. On my latest trip to London, I eventually managed to spot some recycling bins...indeed a scruffy array of big bins in the busy borough of Camden...


...but if you happen to be passing in the early hours of the morning or late at night, I'm afraid that you'll have to take your recycling back home with you, out of consideration for the neighbours!

I suppose that's the only time I'd advocate being quiet about recycling.
__________________________________________________________

St Arvans: Wales' First Zero Waste Village

...Or as they say in Welsh...Sain Arfan - Pentref, "Sero-wastraff" Cyntaf Cymru.

While I was in Monmouthshire last week, I went to visit an unlikely hotspot, in the form of the village of St Arvans.

Yes, St Arvans, which is best pronounced with the Welsh accent it deserves.

What grasped my interest is that it is the first Zero Waste Village in Wales and unless otherwise contested, the UK. It is a community of around 280 homes, with a staggering take-up from 95% of its residents.

The Zero Waste Village is one of three local recycling projects being managed by Monmouthshire Community Recycling (MCR), a not-for-profit company that looks after kerbside recycling in this part of Wales. The aim of the project is to go beyond recycling and focus on changing the way that residents think about waste, encouraging people to treat it as a resource rather than rubbish.

The organisation also acknowledges that Zero should not necessarily be seen as an absolute figure but as a target for which to strive, with the expectation that new levels of innovation and efficiency will arise as a result.

When I arrived at St Arvans I was met by Simon Anthony, MCR's Zero Waste Co-ordinator, who gave me the lowdown on the organisation's collection services. Together with the unitary authority Monmouthshire County Council, MCR offers kerbside collections of paper, glass, cans, clothing, plastics, cardboard as well as food waste in some areas.


The St Arvans collection includes food waste, as well as drink cartons, household batteries, printer cartridges and mobile phones. There is also a community recycling point in the car park of the village pub, for residents and visitors to use while they are out and about.

Simon made it sound like recycling heaven and after a quick tour around the village I realised it was.

It was Polly Summers who really brought the whole idea to life. Polly is the eight year old daughter of the Summers family, which is the representative"recycling family" of St Arvans. She was with Simon when I arrived and as we walked along to her house, she told me why it was so important that everyone should recycle.

She knew that waste was a valuable resource and that where possible, villagers should make the effort to reduce waste that can't be recycled. It made sense to her that buying single packets of crisps was more sensible than buying multi-packs that are sold in a larger bag.

Polly also told me that free plastic toys that come with magazines aren't really free and because they break so easily it's better to spend money on toys that last longer and which are played with more regularly.

She's definitely cut through the essence of basic marketing techniques and such wisdom will serve her well in later years.

It was very obvious that Polly was pleased to be part of the Zero Waste Village. She was proud of what they were doing and is so captivated by it that she is also on the eco-council at her local school.

We soon arrived at the family home, where I was introduced to Lou and Rob Summers and their other children, Joe (8), Jake (6) and Ceri (4). We spent the next hour talking about...well...rubbish.


The Summers are an average family, who just happen to be keen on recycling, so much so that before the project started they managed their kitchen and garden waste through home-composting. It has always been very important to them and Lou has always been conscious of minimising food waste in the home. It was easy to see why the villagers thought they should be St Arvans' representatives.

However, since the project started a year ago, they have never had it so good and are happy to have given up they home-composting system in favour of using the service provided by the kerbside collection. The philosophy of "reduce" carries through the family and they were full of examples of how waste can be presented at source, from managing the family's needs right through to organising birthday parties.

I've been struggling with my new-found feelings about waste reduction for a little while and wondering about the significance of how it's slotted into our lifestyle. Lou was able to sum it up in one sentence.

"It's like cleaning your teeth. It's something that we do automatically, without thinking about it."

So simply put, but it makes so much sense.

So why was St Arvans chosen for the project? Simon explained that it was the St Arvans Community Council that actually approached MCR for more support. How great to see such motivation from a community. No individual is forced to recycle. There are no fees or fines, yet 95% of the households are participating, leading to a local recycling rate of 77%. With results like this it is hard not to be motivated.

As well as a need coming from the village itself, the excellent communication processes, such as door knocking, and weekly collection system all play a part in the success of the project. Residents are provided with a black box in which to place all their recyclable items and the recyclates are sorted at source by the operators of the collection truck. Simon confirms this is key to minimising recycling contamination. Anything that can't be accepted is just left in the black box for the residents to deal with separately. And for people who find it all too much, for example those who have difficulty carrying boxes, help is at hand to assist them.



I must say that I am very impressed by the service and it would be great to see such efforts being rolled out across the county and indeed the rest of the UK. Despite having fantastic recycling facilities in St Edmundsbury, I couldn't help feel a little envious of having so many things collected from the kerbside. It would mean no more tetra paks, printer cartridges or textiles having to be carted off to the nearest collection banks.

If you can excuse the pun, it seems that MCR has got most things pretty much sorted. In a recent study by the Welsh Assembly, it came out as the best value kerbside recycling of any rural district in Wales, with the service costing 24p per household per week. As it adds more items to its collection, MCR recognises that charges will be increased but asserts that this will continue to be cheaper than the alternative of being fined.

So what's next for MCR? As well as trying to influence the elimination of over-packaging, the organisation is also aiming for 100% real nappy usage in the village. However, it doesn't stop there. Shops and businesses have been brought on board too.

The local shop reuses plastic bags as well as paper bags and the local pub, The Piercefield, which is part of the Brains brewery chain, is proactive with bottle recycling and has managed to implement a system that is really effective.


While discussing business recycling over coffee, Denise Eve, one of the joint managers told us that the key to engaging staff effectively is to ensure that internal recycling bins are placed in the most convenient areas for staff use.

One of her concerns was about food waste and how important it is for her business to tackle. Business food waste is currently not collected by MCR or Monmouthshire County Council. Denise is confident that current internal practices are so well managed that it would be easy to apply if a such a service became available. It is too soon to know the outcome of the request, but it would be great if her interest led to a positive result.

What an unexpected delight to add to my short holiday in Wales. I am grateful to Simon Anthony for inviting me along. It was such an interesting visit, on what was a rare sunny day and I would like to thank Simon, The Summers Family and Denise Eve for such a warm welcome and sharing details of their project, which has become an engrained part of the village's lifestyle.

Should you happen to be passing through St Arvans one day, be sure to stop at the Piercefield pub. As well as a great welcome, you'll be guaranteed a delicious freshly made meal. And you never know, even if you can't manage to finish your dish, hopefully your plate scrapings will not go to waste.

More information about Monmouthshire Community Recycling can be found at: www.monrecycling.co.uk.

_________________________________________________

Additional notes: The Zero Waste Village is supported by Monmouthshire County Council, Monmouthshire Waste Forum Environmental Partnership, Communities First Abergavenny, Gwent Association of Volunteer Organisations, Rural Communities Action and Monmouthshire Green Web. Other partners include Environment Wales with funding from the Welsh Assembly Government.

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Don't Forget Your Toothbrush!

The forgotten toothbrush by almostmrsaverage

(To enlarge cartoon, just click on it)

It was too late!

Whilst unpacking our bags at the weekend, Mr A and I realised that somewhere between Wales and Suffolk, our matching pair of toothbrushes had gone missing.

I'm not sure which is worse, the fact that we had lost them or revealing that they were a matching pair!

But I could have sworn I'd packed them.

I'm pretty convinced I did.

Perhaps they fell out of the holdall? Who knows?

But whatever has happened, one thing's for sure, in that wherever they've ended up they will be hanging around forever.

We've managed to get by for a couple of days while I've been busy pondering the future of our dental hygiene and taking the opportunity to give proper consideration to our replacements.

The problem I have is that I hate throwing away used plastic toothbrushes and I really don't like the idea of them being sent to landfill. It seems such a waste, just to sit there in the ground for eternity. I normally keep the old ones for cleaning tricky areas in the bathroom but there comes a time when a woman has all the old toothbrushes she needs.

So before heading off to the supermarket, I thought I would do some research!

I quickly decided that the natural option just wasn't for me. Using a twig to clean my toothy pegs is not my kind of thing.

There was another option of toothbrushes which come with replacement heads. I like this idea but it still means the replacement heads will be dumped in landfill when their time is up.

I also came across the Preserve toothbrush, which is made in the U.S. I loved this idea because the manufacturer, Recycline, takes recycling very seriously. The handle is made from recycled plastic such as yoghurt pots and the company also encourages customers to post back their old toothbrushes. These are then sent away to be made into "plastic lumber", which is used to make benches and decking. This seems a perfect cradle-to-cradle product and definitely gets a big thumbs up.

Oh decisions decisions!

I would have really loved to have bought the Preserve brush, but even though it can be purchased in the UK from shops such as the EthicalSuperstore, I didn't like the idea of it being shipped backwards and forwards to the States, just in the name of recycling. It would be different if we could recycle our toothbrushes here in the UK. For a country that gets slammed so much for its environmental policy, the U.S. seems to have come up with some innovative solutions way ahead of our own.

Anyway, desperately trying to avoid landfill products, I was pleased to discover another option...

...that wooden toothbrushes are now available in the UK!

Yep, you heard me right and I hope you haven't fallen off your chair with the news.

I managed to track down the elusive creatures on the Cebra website, which is an ethical and fairtrade online store. These particular items are made in Germany from sustainable sources.

They were the most expensive choice, but even so I decided that it was the best option for us!

So, having ordered some yesterday, including one for all the family of course, they promptly arrived today. You can't get better service than that! The best thing is, they came with very little packaging, simply a small piece of plastic covering the bristles.



So I am now in my element, with one less product to throw in the bin. Ah, it's the simple things in life that matter so much.

But why such determination to buy a wooden one?

Composting of course! When we've finished with them, we can simply pop them in the compost bin. Hopefully, the worms will munch on them (after they've softened a bit) and then poop them out into lovely fine compost.

One thing's for certain, when I'm mulching the garden this time next year, I definitely won't have forgotten my toothbrush.

(Thanks to the lovely Jo Beaufoix for sharing the Toonlet gadget)
________________________________________________________

Introducing Mrs Green and family

Say a big hello to Mrs Green and her family.

She lives in a semi-rural village in Gloucestershire and together with her husband, their daughter and the cat, she has agreed to sign up for The Rubbish Diet challenge.

Yes, we did need agreement from the cat, as she is a key contributor to food waste but we took a purr and a wink as a sign of compliance before letting her settle back to her cat-nap.

The family are at home for much of the time as their daughter is home-educated. They often have the opportunity to cook from scratch, which means that they are able to keep unnecessary packaging down to a minimum.

Being environmentally-minded, Mrs Green has made previous attempts to slim her bin but also being human, the frustrations with taking the kitchen peelings to the compost bin at the bottom of the garden on wet and soggy days have often led to it being sent off to landfill.

Combining problems with plastics and issues with Tetra Paks, the Green's weekly rubbish collection regularly amounts to one old-fashioned dustbin plus two swing-bin bags of waste.



With concerns for the environment being a key motivator Mrs Green has decided to go for it big time, with an immediate decision to try and cut all that rubbish in half.

They are already keen recyclers. After recycling glass, tins and paper through their kerbside collection, they hold on to their plastic bottles and card to take to their village collection point and to recycling centres further afield. Since completing the audit, Mrs Green is also pleased that recently Tetra Pak recycling has been introduced in the village and is already seeing a positive impact on her bin.

However the key problem is food waste, especially as Mrs Green is vegetarian, Mr Green isn't and Little Miss Green is just 7, which means that Mrs Green has a huge juggling act to pull together the nutritional needs of all the family, including the cat who also eats fresh food rather than tinned meat.

There's not much the family can do at present to reduce the cooked food waste, except for reduce portion sizes or perhaps invest in a Bokashi Bin, but the great news is that Mrs Green is now very committed to making regular visits to their compost bin and is more determined than ever.

And I don't think composting will be particularly difficult anymore, thanks to a new visitor, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last week. He and his friend can be found regularly hanging out in the vicinity of the composter and are always ready to help. And NO, I am not talking about Diarmuid Gavin of WRAP's compost campaign. No, this visitor is just a little more hairy than celebrity gardener Diarmuid.



But with this kind of help, I don't think there's much hope for successful composting, do you?

So while I work on her Rubbish Audit, please pop over to Mrs Green's pad and say hello. Apparently, there's a bit of a recycling party going on in celebration of Recycle Week.

But before you go, here is the best news ever. I am very pleased to hear that Mrs Green is also hooked on talking rubbish and has set up a dedicated blog to track her family's progress. Called My Zero Waste, you will find her regular musings plus loads of other useful information and news items that she's found along the way. Don't miss it, it's excellent.

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No time to waste!

Apologies if I've been quiet on the blog over the last week.

It may have looked like the lights were on, but I am afraid that there was no-one at home, no-one that is except for two cats and about two hundred worms.

Following a last-minute cancellation at a rural hotspot we've had our eye on, we took the opportunity for a short break in Monmouthshire.

With family in the heart of Bristol as well as the coal-mining valleys of South Wales, Penallt (a little village just outside Monmouth) seemed the perfect base for visiting those close to us, nicely located in the middle of our two destinations but far enough away to feel like a real holiday.

And it was a holiday...even from blogging...as there was no access to the Internet! I was just glad that I'd organised the videos beforehand, knowing things would be busy.

However rubbish dieting aficionados will be pleased to hear that it wasn't a holiday from waste awareness and apart from the other personal stuff such as staying in a fab place, enjoying great food and celebrating Mr A's (waste-free) birthday, here are some of the less obvious highlights....

• Zero Waste Travel: Zero Waste Travel was Mr A's idea and at his request I baked muffins for the journey instead of buying snack bars. I also saved the fruit and veg from a lonesome week in the fridge and created some snack pots for the journey. I mustn't forget the invention of a new awesome snack of bananas in blankets, easily created by wrapping a slice of bread around a banana! Perfect for rumbling tummies en-route! But tsk-tsk Mr A. No sooner had we set off, I discovered Mr A discretely unwrapping some Cadbury's chocolate eclairs. Zero Waste Travel indeed! And as for the snack pot of chopped fruit, perhaps I should mention they tumbled out of my eldest's hands, coinciding with a very sharp bend ...oops...Gritty grapes are not nice, especially when squashed into a backpack!
  

• Not on your nelly! This time, it was Mr A's turn to "tsk-tsk" me. After all my hard work on saying "no" to the children, all it took was a weak moment on Tuesday morning. I took the boys on a tour of Tintern Abbey, while Mr A stayed outside to finish a work report. After just over an hour of wandering around the ruins about three times over and fifteen minutes of hide-and-seek, we decided it was time to leave and the only way out was via the shop. One ball-point pen and plastic compass later, we returned to Mr A's frown and look of dismay. I know, I know! After everything I said....BUT...the compass was educational AND the ball-point pen was excessively huge and so orange that it could never get lost and can be used for storing all sorts of things when it runs out...EXCUSES, EXCUSES... I guess it just shows how hard it is. However, in my defence, these were the only excesses during a week of half-term antics and is a huge improvement on previous times.

• Meeting Mrs Green! When regular commentator Mrs Green heard that we were staying in her neck of the woods, she kindly invited us over for a cup of tea! We couldn't refuse a lovely impromptu offer like that, especially as she has courageously just signed up to her own Rubbish Diet. Mrs Green is a talented lady. Not only is she brilliant at blogging, she's also great at biscuits and cakes, plus lots of other things. It's just a shame we could only stay for a couple of hours. There's more on Mrs Green tomorrow, so do visit for lots of exciting news, including my very unusual composting experience.
  

• Visiting St Arvans! As I told Mr A, it really was a coincidence that we were staying so close to St Arvans. "What's so significant about St Arvans?" you might ask. I'll reveal all later this week, but if you can't wait to find out, there's always Google!

• Realising our accommodation had a Food Waste collection! There wasn't any info in the brochure, the landlady hadn't even mentioned it and I am not that obsessed that I 'd checked out the recycling bins, but the sheer joy of opening the front door one day and seeing little food waste bins on the kerbside meant I found myself in recycling heaven. The only downside was trying to empty the remnants of the previous night's black bean stir-fry into the teeny bin, whilst fishing out the odd wine cork.....er, honestly I'm really really not obsessed!
  

Sorry, I've just realised...how rude of me not to send a postcard! After abandoning the blog and going on holiday for a week it's the very least I could do.

So without further ado, here's a lovely photo that I took of my visit....to none other than Monmouth's Household Waste Recycling Centre:



And as for the message:

"Weather crap and recycling variable....

Wish you were here... Well perhaps not exactly here as other HWRCs are available.

As today is the beginning of WRAP's Recycle Week a visit to your local HWRC will be even more timely. The theme of Recycle Week is "One more thing", so what a perfect excuse to rummage through your cupboards and pop along to your local HWRC to show your support. Your "one more thing" could be an aerosol can, a tetrapak carton or a few batteries... whatever they are able to take. And while you're at it, tell your friends just in case they can't find their way. And if they really can't find their way out of a proverbial paper bag the Recycle Now site will be of great help.

Oh I'm so glad to be back... even if it never felt like I was really away!

Lots of love,

Almost Mrs Average xx"


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