Almost Mrs Average and the Recyclettes

After yesterday's news about the Bokashi and the Beasties, I think it's now time to stand up and show your appreciation for the Recyclettes.

The Recyclettes?

"Who on earth are they?" you might ask.

Well there are loads of different types of recyclettes that you can find on Google, but my recyclettes are the fab ladies (and their families) who have risen to the challenge of The Rubbish Diet, and my goodness they've shown some commitment. They've shared stories about ditching packaging at the supermarket, taking their own containers to the butchers and getting to grips with compost bins in their gardens.

After getting each of them started on their own personal bin slimming programme it's now time to catch up with the lovely ladies and find out what's been going on in their bins.


And there's no better place to start than the lovely Ruby from Bury St Edmunds, our first volunteer who was brave enough to reveal her rubbish.



We started Ruby's Rubbish Audit at the end of March and what a sorry state of affairs it was. Ruby revealed that she had too much packaging for her recycling bin, so the surplus was going into her landfill bin, which led to overflowing bins all round. Things were so bad that Ruby was more worried about the effect on her own environment than the world at large and by heck did it need some management.

Well the great news from Ruby is that she is now the anti-excess-packaging queen. She no longer uses packaging for her children's packed lunches, unless it's reusable or recyclable. She has begun to cook more meals from scratch instead of buying ready meals and has even gone as far as ditching her packaging at the supermarket!

She's also got a great site called Ruby's Rubbish Blog, where she focuses on all types of nonsense packaging and laughs at it in the same way as an organic gardener laughs at mutated vegetables.

Her latest blogpost reveals that she's now doing a bit of gardening herself. Ruby gardening? Growing her own herbs and tomatoes? My word, that's a turnaround!

At her request, St Edmundsbury Council gave her a brand spanking new brown wheelie bin for her kitchen waste so she no longer has to send her peelings off to landfill. The other fantastic news is that all her guinea pig bedding can go in there too, so even their droppings can be put to good use.

After all this effort and following her "diet plan" she has managed to reach her target with resounding success and has reduced her landfill bin by at least 50%. This means that it is now only half-full every collection day, which translates to roughly 120 cubic litres of rubbish per fortnight.

All her recyclables can now fit into her recycling bin too, which is sometimes only three-quarters full these days.

So hooray for the Ruby Household for such a fantastic effort.

Something tells me they won't be going back to their old ways, so a round of applause please!


Next, smiling at us from up north...or rather the Midlands, is the gorgeous Jo Beaufoix from Mansfield.



Jo is really enjoying The Rubbish Diet challenge, which she started in May, and has had some fabulous adventures with a new compost bin to help reduce her rubbish. Jo was getting hacked off with not being able to close her bin, let alone fit all her rubbish into it. You can read about her woes here. The aim was to reduce her big fat bin by 50% and the most brilliant news is that she is well on the way to reaching her target.

She's been changing the way she shops, buying loose products, washing out yoghurt pots and has found a whole new excitement in nipping off to the recycling centre. The whole family has got stuck in too, sorting out the papers, bags and tetra paks. The girl's doing well.

The other outcome is that her bin now has a name...Yes a name! My bin has a name too, but I never told Jo this. My bin's called Dave. Apologies to all the Daves out there who might feel offended. No offence is intended. It's just a Rubbish Diet needs the humour! I think we need to put out an apology to all the Simons too because Jo's bin is called Stinky Simon! Personally, I think anyone who's called Simon has now got a bigger problem than all you Daves.

Anyway Jo has written about the adventures of Stinky Simon's diet on her very entertaining blog jobeaufoix.com. It's an essential read, which follows Simon's relationship with the bin lorry. In a very surreal way, I can't wait to find out if Simon gets his girl.

So it's time to applaud Jo and Stinky Simon as well as Mr B and the little Beaufoixs for such a tremendous effort. Well done!


To complete the trio, give a huge wave to the wonderful Green Family, all the way from Gloucestershire.


It doesn't seem that long ago since the most wonderful Mrs Green was despairing about her rubbish and I volunteered to lend a hand. They decided to sign up for the Rubbish Diet treatment straight away. They only started a couple of weeks ago but are making astounding progress.

The Greens haven't got the all singing and dancing wheelie bin down in their neck of the woods, or should I say forest (after all they live in the Forest of Dean). They have had to rely on a battered but beautiful old dustbin, who has developed a character of her own, being full to the brim and always accompanied by saddlebags! Their other challenge is that they don't have a mixed plastics recycling collection, so are having to make careful choices.

However Mrs Green and the rest of the Greens have risen to the challenge in a way that goes beyond the dreams of possibilities. They're ditching the mixed plastics where possible, taking their own containers to the butchers and experimenting with all sorts to get rid of that trash. They are recycling everything they can and are managing the daily drag to the compost bin at the end of the very long garden. Within such a short period they have already hit their 50% target head on.

So there is nothing stopping the Greens now and they are absolutely on a roll. They've already been featured in their local paper and have even got a whole website dedicated to their mission...yes not just a blog, but a website.

If you pop along to www.myzerowaste.com you will find competitions, as well as offers and discounts on all things that they can get their hands on. There are newsfeeds to keep you up-to-date with what's happening in the world and of course an hilarious account of how they've risen to this mighty challenge.

And they have truly risen to it, because not only have they surpassed their own expectations, but they've accepted my suggestion to attempt their very own Zero Waste Week.

Yes....Zero Waste. That means trying to go for one whole week without putting anything in their landfill bin at all!

But we must remember Rome wasn't built in a day and it wouldn't seem fair to just thrust it upon them this quickly. So they've got a few more months to finish their rubbish work-out before attempting to go rubbish-free during the first week of September. So watch this space for news of their progress.

I have every confidence they will do well. They've pulled together some fantastic support from people who are encouraging them along the way. They've even inspired another blogger to join in, the lovely Sue who also lives in Gloucestershire, who you may have also seen contributing to the discussions on The Rubbish Diet this week.

Inspired by all the rubbish gossip, Sue's now set up her new blog too, Healthy Cheap Meals, Minimal Waste, where she happily shares her progress at slimming her bin and pulling together healthy meals on a budget. So do pop over and say hello. It's a sure way of saving some money too.

So it's time to put your hands together again and give a huge round of applause for the Greens for everything they have achieved and so quickly. And Sue, please take your bow too. What a fabulous effort and thank you so much for joining in the fun.

Blimey, what have I started? Is it a new blogging genre, a lifestyle makeover, or a revolution?

Chuckle...Who knows? I guess only time will tell. But whatever it is, it's wonderfully infectious and all the families who have taken part are absolute stars.

So what's next?

Well Ruby's at a level where she feels happy, Jo is looking forward to cutting Stinky Simon's rubbish a bit more and Mrs Green has got the most amazing project ahead of her.

How exciting!


But what about the Almost Average Household, here in Bury St Edmunds?

Well it's been nearly three months since the end of St Edmundsbury's Zero Waste Week and the big question is have we stuck to it?

Er yep. It's not quite Zero or Zilch but we're still pretty close to hardly anything.

Apart from a couple of dead birds, a stinky old polystyrene tray and some half-term cat litter, our weekly rubbish still amounts to about a quarter of a carrier bag.

I'm not sure if I've ever revealed what we regularly throw away, so maybe the time has come...to show the contents of the Almost Average bin bag!

Cue drum roll.....

.......the bright lights...

...........and heightened suspense!

Ready?

...well, here it is!



You see, I still have SOME household rubbish, which is mainly the film from Weetabix cartons, small scraps of bubblewrap that are of little use to anyone and my junior saboteur's favourite cheese wrapper, or rather the wrapper from his favourite cheese.

Some weeks you might find the odd crisp packet too, as well as a few cotton buds (but those will soon be eliminated as I have now found ones with paper sticks, so they can be composted).

So what are our next challenges...well it's still rubbish related of course. One of my first priorities is to get myself organised so that Mr A can happily take a packed lunch to work. Call me a control freak, but I have got no idea what goes on outside these four walls as far as Mr A's diet is concerned, but I bet it's got something to do with packets of crisps, takeaways and other nasties. So you see, I've got to take control and it will bring benefits.

It's going to be hard as it means some forward planning, which is really tricky for me. What makes it more difficult is that Mr A has certain tastes, which exclude sandwiches. One might suggest that he is a fussy booger, but it could also be argued that I am a lazy apeth. Between us we might find a solution, so stay tuned.

However, the biggest challenge will be our household declutter. That's a project and a half, which will need patience and some careful management and a bit of bin defence!

You see, when my back is turned Mr A dons his crown to become the King of Declutter, whipping himself into action to bin all of the crap and clutter in his sight and if I haven't got my wits about me it will all be destined for landfill.

So I need to summon up the energy to tidy, sort and pass things on to good homes...

Now that for me will be a greater challenge than Zero Waste Week. So if there are any declutterers out there who can help me re-organise my chateau, (sorry my three bedroomed semi) you will be welcomed with open arms.

And on that note, I'm off to fight my way through the mountain of kids clothes.

I hope you have a great weekend. The fabulous Recyclettes and I are celebrating their fantastic progress in style and will be virtually partying all weekend (all waste-free of course). See you next week for some more rubbish updates.


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The Bokashi and the Beasties: The first live gig

A round of applause ladies and gentlemen for the latest, most talked about duo (well in Stanton village anyway)....

It's the main act, so please give it up for ...........

The Bokashi and the Beasties!



Yesterday, I was the warm-up act at Stanton Primary School, where I revealed the contents of my gorgeous rubbish bin to almost 60 children.



I had my volunteer bin sorters ...two very brave children who were happy to delve into the bin. For reassurance I should add, all items were deliberately added that morning.

Bizarrely, both the children's names began with a "kicking K"... which made it very easy to remember, especially as my name begins with the same letter too. (Apologies, but having a six year old, it is so easy to fall into Jolly Phonics).

Then we had my other helpers, who pretended to be the bins for all the sorted contents...

We had a "Curly C" to look after the Recycling
Another "Kicking K" to take care of the Composting
A "S" to sort out my squidgy fruit and veg.
And a "W" to look after the rubbish.

The boys and girls knew about recycling and were enthusiastic to vote on what we should do with each item, while I told the story of The Rubbish Diet and how, during one week in March, all I threw out was one plaster.

There were looks of surprise when the bin sorters delved into the bin and pulled out some dodgy looking fruit and vegetables, but we decided the wrinkled apple wasn't mouldy and could be eaten once peeled. The banana could be used in a banana cake and the tomato or carrots could be used to make soup.

After all the sorting, the boy in charge of the "rubbish" was left with just a piece of film from the Weetabix box.

Result! If this had been a real bin, there would have been hardly anything to have thrown away.

As the bin sorters were hard at work, there were calls of "eurggh" as we revealed the morning's leftover breakfast, which was some Weetabix, still in bowl (but wrapped in a plastic bag for safety)...

And that was the intro to the final act!

The floodlights were lit to reveal the one thing that has helped me to reduce my rubbish....

Yes the Bokashi itself.


I warned that it smelled a little and drained off some of the bokashi juice to a chorus of "what a pong".

It was agreed that it smelled a bit like cider (confirmed by the teachers not the children, I hasten to add).

The children then queued up to take a peek inside the bin, before heading in my direction to have a look at the beasties who eat the bokashi and turn it all into compost.




Yes, the lovely wriggly squiggly worms, all looking dandy in their portable bed of compost.

And there I was, wondering how I would fill a whole hour. As it was, I had nothing to worry about as the hour flew by.

The kids were great, so attentive, friendly and inquisitive and didn't eat me for breakfast after all...which is a good job really, because the next tour-date is this afternoon, this time at my son's school!

So without further ado...let's give another round of applause for The Bokashi and the Beasties as well as the children at Stanton Primary School in Suffolk, especially my wonderful helpers. Also a big "thank you" to Mr Goddard for inviting me along.

Extra notes for teachers or parents that might be looking in: Please note the contents of the Bokashi should not be placed in the brown wheelie bins for collection from the council. It is intended for use in a home compost bin or wormery. Anyone considering a kit would need two bokashi bins, plus a permanent supply of special EMs impregnated bran. Once full, the bokashi bin should be left for two weeks and the liquid drained off every few days, while you use the second bin. More links can be found on yesterday's post, which discusses food waste.
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Why I no longer send food waste to landfill

Yesterday I was invited by the Jonathan Vernon-Smith consumer show to join in the food waste discussion on BBC Three Counties Radio. If you're in time, you can catch it again on the listen again feature (about 2 hrs & 52 minutes in) and hear us laughing about out-of-date chocolate and taking microwave meals off to your friends if you've been invited for dinner ... all in an attempt to reduce food waste of course.

On a more serious note, food waste is a real hot topic at the moment, following research last year by WRAP, which revealed that a third of all food we buy is thrown away.

That's like buying six bags of fresh food at the supermarket and throwing two in the bin when you leave, just because you couldn't be bothered to take it home or you changed your plans just after you got past the checkout.

If someone told you they did that, you would probably think they were bonkers. Yet in the UK we throw away 6.7 million tonnes of wasted food per year and this startling figure includes 5,500 chickens that are bunged in the bin, with full packaging intact, everyday... yes you did read that right...EVERYDAY.

When you add the fact that that we don't just spend money buying all this food, we also pay more to throw it away, the picture of lunacy becomes bigger. Then there's the environmental damage, caused by rotting apples and other organic matter in landfill, creating 18 million tonnes of of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

Phew...all from thowing the odd bit of meat or banana skins in the bin!

Food waste has become a personal issue of mine, not because I have always been perfect in minimising waste, but because it used to be the main cause of having an overloaded and smelly old bin!

However over the course of slimming my bin, I have discovered a few tricks of the trade in managing to reduce my contribution to the landfill problem, so I thought it was worth revisiting the ideas.

1. Buying little and often: I am absolutely rubbish at forwarding planning and would find myself throwing things in the bin because they were out of date or had gone off, so I now buy more fresh produce and meat in smaller quantities as and when I need them, allowing me to cook as the mood takes me. This also means I can make a quick visit to the market and benefit from the best deals.

2. Buying in bulk: I'm a lady who falls by the wayside of temptation, so I buy essential toiletries and other items in bulk, reducing the need to make regular visits to the larger supermarkets. My life of buying an extra dozen things I didn't really need is now over and no longer relies on my poor willpower. I can hardly believe my visits to the supermarket were once a leisure activity...these days I always make a quick getaway.

3. Reducing portions: I've become more careful with portion sizes, only cooking what I know we will eat. We can always top up with something else if we're hungry, even if it's a slice of bread. As far as takeaways are concerned, curries are our downfall, but now we just share one dish and eat it all, rather than buying one each and wasting the leftovers.

4. Using up fresh leftovers: If I know there are going to leftovers, I put them aside and try and reuse them for another meal. For example a bolognese dish can be quickly turned into a chilli-con-carne, just by adding a few simple spices.

5. Feed the birds: With two kids, the trickiest thing for us is sometimes bread crusts. The birds now lap these up together with some other odds and ends. It is a real treat to see our new visitors in the garden and the children love spotting the different types of feathered friends.

6. Feeding the worms: Of course even with best efforts, there is always going to be some food waste and we don't have the benefit of a separate food waste collection service from our local authority. However we already had a composter which is good for uncooked fruit and vegetables and it produces just enough compost to mulch our garden every year.

We can't use the composter for cooked food waste because of the risk of vermin and with this in mind we got a couple of bokashi bins, which can be tucked away in the corner of our small kitchen. It allows us to add our plate scrapings (including meat and fish scraps), over which we sprinkle a layer of specially impregnated bran. When full, we leave it to ferment for a couple of weeks before putting it in the composter and the worms love it! It's like hosting a worm party!

We also have a wormery, which helps us cope with the odd emergency when we run out of our bokashi bran. However, it can't handle meat or fish. The children treat the wormery as pets and we do have to be careful about keeping the temperature right in winter, making sure they are cosy in their blanket. The wormery seems a popular choice for a fly gathering at the moment, but I've picked up some excellent advice from Wiggly Wigglers, which I will share very soon.

The one thing I have learned is that food waste is very personal. Some people are great at managing it without any help of garden gadgetry, others (like me) are not so great unless they can step up to a lifestyle overhaul and get the right toolkit in place.

And yes, I still have the odd mishap, as I am human after all, but the best bit is, I no longer have to bung my food waste in the landfill bin, which means it no longer gets heavy or smelly and leaves me with one less thing to worry about!

If you want to read more about how I've dealt with my own family's food waste, try the following posts: How to be a rubbish cook; Look at my lovely worms and Putting an end to food in landfill.

For examples of how other consumers are also making the change have a peek Mrs Green's gorgeous site http://myzerowaste.com/how-to-reduce-food-waste/
where she's got some excellent tips. Specific details from other Bokashi users, including some other composting techniques, can be found at The Big Sofa, Faites Simple and Simon Sherlock's site.

More background detail about food waste in general can be found at WRAP's research site as well as their Love Food Hate Waste website.


In the meantime, I've got to get my skates on...because this morning I am off to explain all this to a group of primary school children.... yep... 60 of them... now that seems more scary than the first day I came face-to-face with a bagfull of worms, or indeed the WRAP event last week!

60 kids, eh?!

Yikes!

There's a big risk they could eat me for breakfast. So if you don't hear from me soon, send in a rescue party!


ADDENDUM: - If you would like to hear a great "all things considered" review of Bokashi bins, then tune in to Emma's podcast at the Alternative Kitchen Garden. Thanks Emma, aka Fluffius Muppetus for sharing the link.
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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.
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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.

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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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