Buy Back Your Garden Waste

West Sussex homes can now buy back their garden waste as genuine organic compost called Reclaim Organic Soil Conditioner.

Household waste recycling sites are now producing bags of organic compost for sale. So far 56,000 tonnes of green waste from gardens in West Sussex have been processed into organic compost. This is an example of how recycling can effectively ‘close the loop’. The green waste from your garden can be taken to your nearest household waste recycling site or collected from your kerbside. It then goes into a local composting plant, where it is processed and bagged ready for sale at household waste recycling sites. The loop is closed when the compost is spread back onto the garden.

This is a great example of how waste can be turned into a useable product which in this case will enrich your garden with an organic product that is local in every sense of the word.

It is available at 10 out of 11 Household Waste Recycling Sites in West Sussex:
· Billingshurst
· Bognor Regis
· Burgess Hill
· Crawley
· East Grinstead, via Imberhorne lane nurseries adjacent to the site
· Horsham
· Littlehampton
· Midhurst
· Shoreham
· Westhampnett, Chichester
Worthing is expected to be complete by the end of 2008

Please let us know of other areas that are offering a similar service around the country.

Composting

To make good compost you will need to have a mixture of green and brown materials. Green materials contain a high percentage of nitrogen and breakdown quickly; brown materials contain a high percentage of carbon and breakdown slowly. Aim for a 50/50 mix of both wet greens and dry browns. For example, for every caddyful of fruit and vegetable peelings you add, match it with a caddyful of scrunched paper and cardboard packaging.
It can take approximately 6-9 months to make your compost. Finished compost is a dark brown, almost black. It has a spongy texture and is rich in nutrients. Spreading finished compost into your flowerbeds greatly improves soil quality by helping it retain moisture and suppressing weeds.



Tip: If your compost heap tends to be wet & smelly, add more browns; if it is dry, add some greens.

Compost Materials

Compost Greens
Annual Weeds, Bracken Leaves, Cabbage, Citrus Peel, Comfrey Leaves, Cut Flowers, Grass cuttings, Green pruning, Lettuce/salad trimmings, Manure, Old Bedding plants, Potato tops, Rhubarb leaves, Seaweed, Straw, Tea bags/leaves, Vegetable/fruit peelings, Weeds without seeds

Compost Browns
Cardboard, Coffee grounds, Egg boxes, Egg shells, Feathers, Hair, Hay, Kitchen paper, Newspaper, Paper bags, Pet bedding from herbivorous pets, Shredded garden waste, Shredded paper, Spent perennial stems, Wood ash, Carpet dust, Wood shavings, Charcoal (cold)

Materials to avoid
Butter, oil and dressing, Bread, Cigarette ends, Cooked food leftovers, Crisp packets, Coal ashes, Dairy products, Diseased or insect infested plants, Fatty/oily foods including cheese, Human Faeces, Meat, bones and fish scraps, Pet Waste (cat and dog), perennial roots, Plant or grass clippings treated with chemicals, Rose prunings/thorny materials, Weeds with mature seeds.

Read It, Swap It!

Bought a book and finished it? Don't know what to do with it? If you've read it swap it!

We have just come across this site www.readitswapit.co.uk which provides an eco way to get rid of unwanted books - recycle them by swapping books on-line. It is a free service with over 170,000 books available for swapping.

The swap process works in the same way that you'd normally swap something. You find something you like, you ask to swap, another ReadItSwapIt member chooses something of yours and you exchange the goods.

For more information go to the ReadItSwapIt website.

Why Recycle Plastics?

Plastic bottles are made from oil which is a fossil fuel that will one day run out. In Britain alone we throw away about 9 billion bottles every year! Many of which currently end up in landfill.

Almost all plastic bottles are made from 1 of 3 types of plastic:
1. PET e.g. fizzy drink bottles, cordial bottles, cooking oil bottles
2. HDPE e.g. milk & fruit juice bottles, washing up bottles, fabric conditioner bottles
3. PVC e.g. still mineral bottles, bottles for toiletries, cordial bottles

PET bottles can be recycled to make a variety of end products, including

• fleece clothing
• sleeping bags
• anoraks
• new packaging
• industrial strapping
• wall and floor coverings

ECO FACT: It takes 25 x 2 litre plastic bottles to make 1 adult-size fleece jacket

HDPE bottles can be recycled to make a variety of end products, including:

• fences
• park benches
• sign posts
• It can also be put back into bottles to be recycled again and again.

PVC bottles can be recycled and used to make a variety of end products, including

• drainage pipes
• electrical fittings
• clothing

ECO FACT: Recycling 1 plastic bottle saves enough energy to run a 60-watt light bulb for 6 hours

Recycling bottles does make a difference – plastic bottle recycling cuts down on waste and saves energy.

The UK now has over 4,900 plastic bottle banks and over 5.4 million households can have their plastic bottles collected as part of a kerbside collection scheme.

Recycle Your Wellies!

A bit of fun for a Friday afternoon - I thought this photo was great!

REUSE

• cut-down wellies to use as slip-ons
• plant things in them!

RECYCLE

• Donate to charity shops (in pairs!)
• Sadly Dunlop has stopped its Welly Recycling Campaign

Please let us know if you have any other tips for recycling your wellies!

source: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Nicky Scott

10 ways to go green in the kitchen!

1. Ditch the bottles - Bottled water is pricey and uses a lot of fuel to transport as well as to make and store all those bottles. Use what come out of your tap instead. Get a good filter to boost purity.

2. Buy Local - Rediscover the bounty of the area that you live in. Seek out Farmers Markets and Country shows where you can buy locally produced products and help boost local shopping.

3. Dispose of Disposables - Instead of relying on single use containers, get real dishes and wash them! The resources savedwill really add up.

4. Banish Excess Packaging - Buy things in larger sizes if you know that you use them all the time. Try to select items thathave less plastic and extra filler stuffed into them.

5. Bring your own bags - It's so simple, plastic and paper bags take resources to produce and distribute and end up as litter.

6. Get a green thumb - Growing your own plants not only helps soak up excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but it can help clean toxins from the air and provide habitat for wildlife.

7. Eat less meat - Modern meat is energy and resource intensive and factory farms are huge polluters. Eating lower on the food chain reduces these problems.

8. Use appliances wisely - Get an energy audit (doing one yourself is easy) unplug unused devices and purchase an energy meter to see just what you are saving

9. Cook! - Plan meals ahead of time so you are not scrambling to pick up something convenient, which is likely to be less healthy and wrapped in more packaging.

10. Become Educated - Learn to save money and time by reducing waste and unneeded consumption, whether that's water, energy, paper, food, travel and more.

Eco Facts About Cars:

• There are 38 million empty car seats on the roads every day
• 58% of car trips are under 5 miles and 25% are less than 2 miles
• Road traffic produces one fifth of the Uk's carbon dioxide

Have you heard about Liftshare?

Whilst continuing our research on ways to go green we came across an interesting website called Liftshare the other day. Liftshare was set up in 1997 with the initial aim of making more efficient use of the millions of empty cars on UK roads by encouraging and enabling more people to share their car journeys. They help individuals to find travel companions to share the journey and offer a wide choice of travel modes not just cars! We thought this was a great idea and wanted to share our findings with you.

Liftshare are recognized internationally as leaders in the field of online journey matching. They have a friendly and professional team who work with many different organisations helping them to set up their own liftshare programmes. Before liftshare was founded, organised journey sharing was almost unheard of in the UK. They have worked extremely hard to make the concept of UK journey-sharing a reality.

Why not take a look at their website which gives a full run down on exactly what they do.

5 Ways to make your Business Greener!

1. Reduce waste and save money

Business waste in the UK carries a high premium. Latest research suggests it can cost as much as 4% of annual turnover. Using recycled and recyclable materials and biodegradable packaging can reduce waste costs dramatically. Specialist recyclers can be found for hazardous waste, such as batteries and chemicals. Printing on both sides of paper obviously helps to save on paper costs.

Moving to ‘digital documents’ having the agenda and notes on your computer rather than paper, not only reduces waste but also provides an easily found record of the event.

Check for leaking taps in the office kitchen and ensure the sink has a plug to use when washing up.

2. Reduce energy and save money

Switching off your computers, printers, other equipment and lights at night are easy ways to save energy but also save money. Even during the day encourage employees to turn the lights off when they leave a room, switching off computers and unplugging mobile phone chargers when not in use will all save money. Rather than using a screensaver, set your monitor to power off after the same amount of time – its easy!

Checking heating and air conditioning are not on at the same time can help and keep doors closed when either of these are in use will help their effectiveness. If rooms are empty make sure the light is turned off and possibly turn the heating off too.

3. Change your products and make money

Introducing features that promote the reusability or recycled nature of your product(s) not only helps the environment but also helps sell your product. Can you print on recycled paper? Can your business send material out via email rather than print?

4. Buy Plants and improve your environment

Plants not only make your office look nicer but they absorb airborne pollutants and negative ions from computers, whilst emitting oxygen. Plant waste like bark and leaves can also be recycled and used as garden mulch.

5. Car share

Encourage your employees to car share and/or take public transport where possible.

It is important to remember not all green initiatives will save you money or cost nothing but having a green business is not always about saving money. Ultimately you will be doing your bit to help save our planet for future generations to enjoy.

10 foods that you DON'T have to buy Organic

With all the talk about pesticides on our foods and going organic, we have found ten foods that are safe to eat without being organic which can help if you are on a tight budget.

1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Broccoli
5. Cabbage
6. Kiwi Fruit
7. Mango
8. Onions
9. Papaya
10. Pineapples

Please ensure that you wash them all thoroughly before you eat or cook with them.

The Dirty Dozen

Did you know that the most highly contaminated foods with pesticides and chemicals even after washing and peeling are:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Imported Grapes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

If you can always try to buy the organic alternative.

Eco Fact Of The Week

It's estimated that Sussex generates 8,849,000 kg of carbon emissions each year, the equivalent to filling 50,000 double decker buses or nearly 320 million party balloons.